


Cause Maybe Tonight, The Stars Align

by justme133



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Carlos is super insecure, F/M, Gay Romance, Gen, M/M, Rated for cussing, Tw:Abuse, because why the heck not, benlos, briefly mentioned asexual character, friendship is the strongest love of all, king ben & carlos romance, slightly adult content, some mild violence, strong evie & carlos friendship, tw:blood, tw:hospitals, tw:seizures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-11-07 05:00:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 34,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17954057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justme133/pseuds/justme133
Summary: Just two boys falling in love. One just happens to be a king, and the other the misfit child of a villain.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> *Title is from 'Parallel' by Heffron Drive  
> *In this version of Auradon, D2 did not happen, and Ben was crowned King at 18, and the VK's are 18/17 when they came to the school.
> 
> This story wouldn't leave my head, and now it's done. Partly written on my phone, so it may suck and there may be some mistakes (I kept editing I hope I caught them all but I probably didn't). 
> 
> Who cares anymore.

It had only been six months, and honestly, Mal  _ did not love _ Ben. She tried – she really had. He was so nice, and kinda cute she guessed? But honestly, she just did not love him, and she didn’t think he loved her either. Maybe he  _ wanted _ to love her, but he didn’t. She could tell. 

They were out on a date by the Enchanted Lake, and Mal had determined that today she would tell him the truth – they didn’t love each other, not the way that the Queen and King did, or any of those true love couples that were scattered around the Kingdom.

Ben was polite, kissing her cheek and holding her hand and all that gooey stuff, but his eyes told the truth – he wasn’t happy, and he deserved to be happy. She did too, and she wasn’t with him. Well, she was, but not the way that she knew she wanted to be. She was all set to tell him, when he got a call – kingly duties and all that crap. He stood up to take the call, pacing as he talked.

She wasn’t really paying attention to him, playing a game on her own phone while she waited for him to be done. Mal had only looked up when she heard a surprised cry come from the young king, followed by a loud  _ thumping _ sound. He had slipped, hitting his head on the hard ground. She got up and ran to his side, seeing a small stain of red coming from behind his head. His eyes were blurry as he stared at nothing.

“Oh my God, Ben!”

…

Ben wakes up with his head pounding, and the lights he’s under are too bright for his eyes. He blinks, trying to make out where he is. The last thing he remembers is… he’s not sure. It’s all fuzzy. He hears voices though, and makes a gurgling sound, which gets everyone’s attention. His mom is suddenly in his face, her hands running through his hair.

“Oh Benny, are you okay?!” She hadn’t called him Benny since he was a kid. He blinks, still slightly confused. She smiles at him, that reassuring mom smile that he knew meant everything would be okay. He gives a small nod, and tries to smile back.

“Good to see you awake, son,” his dad says, coming up to pull his wife away from their son. Ben blinks again, and just smiles. “Does anything hurt?” Ben shakes his head, a low throb in the back of his skull. But it doesn’t really hurt, just more a nuisance than anything. “Good. Can you talk?” Before he can respond, a loud voice overtakes the room.

“I’m sorry Your Majesties, but I need to make sure that he’s okay.” He sees his mom and dad leave, and a flash of purple, before he is left alone with a short round man, whose face is covered in white bushy eyebrows and a white beard. “Hi Ben. Do you know who I am?”

“Doc,” Ben croaks, and the man grins. So that meant, Ben was in the hospital of some sort. Why was he here? What happened? Why couldn’t he remember? 

“Right on the money,” he says, smiling at him. “Think you can sit up?” Ben nods and feels Doc lift the bed up and help Ben sit up a bit better before he hands him a glass of water with a straw. “Drink up. Lets get your voice working again.” Ben nods and gulps down the cool liquid before he takes a deep breath. “How are you feeling, Ben?”

“Confused,” he croaked out, slurping down some more water. Doc nodded and grabbed a clipboard, scribbling something down. “What happened?” Doc looked up, his eyes betraying the slight worry on his face.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” he asked slowly, and Ben could see how his hand tightened ever so slightly on the pen in his hand. He thought hard, and tried to make sense of his jumbled thoughts. He squints, and sees a flash of red and black, and large brown eyes. He feels his face heat up a bit and coughs. Doc scribbles something down and waits for Ben to talk.

“Um…  _ Carlos…  _ heh, um… helping Carlos train. And… Dude chased him up a tree. Dude’s the campus dog. Carlos needed help training for Tourney.... yeah.” Doc nods and scribbles something down before he sucks in his lips in thought.

“Right. Hmm… what else comes to mind?”

“I don’t know… um… Audrey telling me she had a fitting for her dress for the coronation… making sure that Carlos, Jay, Evie, and Mal settled into the school okay. Making sure they didn’t set anything on fire,” he chuckled, and met Doc’s eyes, who seemed resigned, but he smiled when he saw Ben looking at him.

“You mentioned Audrey.” He seemed wary, and watched as Ben’s face darkened. ‘Can you tell me who she is?”

“Yeah. She’s my…. She's my  girlfriend…” he said slowly, his face falling before he seemed to recover, “she’s the daughter of Queen Aurora, known as Sleeping Beauty.”

“Ok, good. I think that’s enough questions right now,” he said, scribbling more on the clipboard before he set it down. “Well, you bumped your head pretty badly. Let me take a look.” He slips on some gloves and begins to probe the back of Ben’s head. “Tell me if anything hurts.” He winced a bit as Doc pushed down on one spot, but that was all. “Well, you seem to be doing pretty well. Nothing broken. Nothing cracked.”

“Can you tell me what happened Doc?” Ben asked, and he saw the old dwarf sigh before he nodded. 

“All I know is what I’ve been told. You were out, you took a phone call, seemed to have slipped, and bumped your head. You lost a little bit of blood, but I was able to patch you up. You were .. ‘unconscious’ for about twelve hours.” Ben sat there, confused. He didn’t remember any of this. Where was he? What kind of call was it? What had happened to those twelve hours, or anything else he might have forgotten? “I’ll go get the Queen. She can probably spread some light on your thoughts,” Doc said, leaving the room. Ben just watched him go, not sure what was going on anymore.

…

Queen Belle and King Adam turned when Doc entered the small waiting area. Belle was anxious to check on Ben, but Doc needed to talk to them first.

“There is something you should understand before you see Ben,” he said, sighing as he rubbed his eyes. “He might have acquired some… short-term amnesia.” Belle gasped and gripped Adam’s arm tightly.

“What do you mean? He knew who we were.”

“Yes, he seems to remember everything until about six months ago, a little before the coronation. If my timing is right. He remembers bringing over the um.. transfer students.” Mal looked up from her seat – she wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but that was a little unsettling - Ben didn't remember they were dating? What if he somehow remembered the love potion though and hated her? She might not love him, but he was a good friend to her.

“So he doesn’t know he’s King? What  _ does _ he know?”

“He mentioned helping the new kids get settled in, and helping one of them train for Tourney. He mentioned Audrey talking about her dress for the coronation. He confirmed that he is currently dating Audrey.” Belle and Adam looked at Mal, who tried to not look too relieved.

“I’ll talk to him first, and then Mal can go in,” Belle said, and Mal nodded her confirmation. She didn’t want to face Ben, not yet.

…

“Mom,” Ben said as his mom entered the room. She smiled at him, her eyes watering a bit. 

“Oh Benny. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine mom,” he said as she hugged him tightly. “I’m confused, but  fine.” She nodded and sat on the edge of the hospital bed, just watching him. “Mom?”

“Ben… what do you think is going on?”

“Doc said I fell after a call. Was this Tourney related?  I know that game worries you but I really –“

“No, Ben, that wasn’t it. There’s something you need to know.” He watched his mom, who just took his hand in hers and smiled at him, seeming to be worried. “Your coronation was over six months ago. You’re King.”

“Wh…what?”

“You stopped dating Audrey months ago. You’ve been dating Mal. From the Isle?” Ben’s face was blank. Why would he date Mal? Sure she was okay, but he was… He blinked his thoughts away and focused on his mom.

“But what about…” his voice trailed off. If what his mom said was true, than he was more of a wimp than a beast any day. “What happened to me?”

“You have some mild amnesia, that’s what Doc said. But it’s okay. Nothing has changed. Everything is going great. You’re a great King.”

Ben didn’t understand how this could have happened - he understood, yes, that he had lost some memories, that wasn’t the problem. Why was he still acting so  _ stupid _ ?

Ben remembered the blur of purple he had seen earlier.

“Can I talk to Mal? She’s here, isn’t she?” Ben asked, feeling his heart pound in his chest. No, he would do it right this time. He had a chance to be himself, and he was done lying.

“Of course sweetheart,” his mom said, squeezing his hand and leaving the room. He waited, holding his breath, as Mal walked in.

He thought, maybe if he saw her, he would see why he dated her, maybe felt something that he knew he was supposed to feel, but didn’t?

But no – he saw Mal, the girl he had brought from the Isle, with her wavy purple hair and piercing eyes. She looked like he remembered, and he didn’t get why he had dated her.

He felt no love for this girl. He knew that he wouldn’t. Old Ben had been living a lie.

“Ben? You okay?”

“Why are we dating?” he asked, feeling the back of his head throb. She blinked at him and sunk down into the chair next to the bed. 

“Long story short, I spelled you. You broke it, good King that you are, and you and I have been dating ever since. You claim to love me. But you don’t.”

“I don’t,” he agreed, watching her shoulders seem to relax. “You don’t love me either.”

“Not in that way. You’re more like…family. I didn’t know how to tell you.”

“Did you make me fall?” He was smirking, and she could tell he was teasing her. So they were okay.

“I’m not that evil… or, I am, but no. We’re trying to be good now, because of you.” He nodded – that sounded right; he knew they weren’t bad, he was glad he had helped them. But still, he felt his heart ache – he had wanted … He took a deep breath and looked into Mal’s green eyes, searching for something.

“We’ve been.. dating, as you said, for a few months now. Have I ever… Have I ever shared anything with you?”

“Like…?”

“Secrets? Feelings? Things I don’t understand, that maybe I shared with you?”

“Not really. Told me you were worried about being King, but you’ve been doing a great job,” she said, shrugging. “What’s going on in the big head of yours?” He smiled, glad that someone wasn’t treating him like he would break at any second. He took a deep breath again and closed his eyes. He saw another flash of black and red, and remembered the feeling of a warm hand on his arm before he opened his eyes. Mal was watching him, waiting.

He could do this – he had the chance to be himself, and find his way into being king the way he wanted to, and with the person  by his side that should have been there from the beginning.

“I’m gay.” Mal felt her mouth open, and she snapped it shut. “I tried to date girls, like Audrey. I figured she would be perfect - the pretty pink princess who could make me not want to…. But it didn’t work. I wanted to leave her, but I didn’t… not on my own. I do thank you for that. I am guessing you are why I am not with her anymore.” Mal nodded again and bit her lip before she chuckled.

“That… actually explains a lot. So what changed? When we arrived, you seemed… content? with Audrey. So what happened?” Ben thought about the way he felt, the minute his own green eyes had locked onto wide brown ones, the way he had felt so warm, so…  _ himself.  _ And then….

“I think I fell in love. A love at first sight type of thing. He…he doesn’t know though. I never said anything.”

“But now you can,” Mal said, seeing where Ben was going with this thought. He nodded, wincing at the throb in his head. “Can I help?” Ben smiled at her, and nodded.

“Can you… promise not to laugh first.”

“I promise. What’s up?”

“Can you get me out of here, so I can go talk to …” Ben shook his head, he couldn’t say anything – not yet. Mal nodded and reached for his hand, giving it a friendly squeeze before she gave him a wicked grin.

“Lets bust you out of here.”

…

Word spread quickly in the halls of Auradon Prep. King Ben had fallen, and had lost his memory – some gossip said he was a vegetable, said some he was faking it, and some said he just wanted to hide away from everything.

Carlos had heard from Jay, who had heard from Evie, who heard from Mal, that Ben had lost the last few months of his life, but he was otherwise okay.

This concerned Carlos. He remembered a brief moment, after they had first arrived, when Ben had looked at him – he had been… he wasn’t sure. It had been something he hadn’t felt before, and it scared him. And then there had been when they had trained for Tourney…

Nope. Not going down that road. Ben was the Golden King, who was dating one of his best friends. He would not think about things out of his control.

He sat in his dorm, alone for the time being – Jay went to practice, Evie was making a new dress for Mal, and Dude went to a “Doggy Day Care” that had been recommended by Fairy Godmother; so, Carlos found himself tinkering with some gadget in his room, waiting on an update from someone about Ben.

Pssh, what, no he wasn’t –  _ he totally was _ . He sighed and hit his head against the table. He had almost gotten past this, but then Ben had to go and get himself hurt, and it just made things so much more complicated, because not only was Carlos concerned for Ben’s well-being, he was also  _ scared _ .

What if… what if Ben forgot about him? Sure, they weren’t anything, since he was dating Mal and all, but it wasn’t… it wasn’t like they  _ weren’t _ weren’t, ya know? It was complicated to explain. 

....

_ When Carlos had stumbled out of the limo the first time they arrived in Auradon, chocolate smeared over his face, he had locked eyes with the young Prince, soon to be King, and felt his heart explode. He didn’t get it - what was going on? Was he having a heart attack? No, that couldn’t be it - Ben had been looking at him the same way he was sure he was looking at him. They both were breathing hard, and Carlos only snapped out of it when Jay began to argue with him about something. When he moved to look away, he saw Ben blink and seem to gulp in air as the girl with him placed her arm through his. _

_ Ben had felt the same way when he had locked eyes with Carlos, like he had died right then and there, and the only thing keeping him there were those wide brown eyes. He only found himself able to look away when Carlos did. Ben knew he couldn’t keep this act of being straight going for much longer as long as Carlos DeVil was in his kingdom. He knew in his heart, no one else would get near Carlos without having to deal with the soon-to-be-King. Something in him just claimed Carlos as ‘his’. _

_ When Carlos had turned up for Tourney, and the coach had recommended someone to help him train for the team, Ben had been all for it. He had wanted to find someway to talk to Carlos without his friends, who always seemed to be around him. They had trained, and then Dude the dog had showed up, and Carlos had sprinted away from him. _

_ It was after Dude that something had changed - Ben watched Carlos stand with the dog in his arms, and he was happy to help Carlos in this way, and was about to leave them when Carlos had called out his name. He had put Dude down, who went sprinting back towards the practice field, leaving them alone. _

_ “Wait! Thanks… for your help today. It… it meant alot to me,” Carlos said shyly, not looking Ben in the eyes. Ben felt that pang in his chest, and he took a step closer, which made Carlos now look at him. _

_ “Carlos…” Ben watched Carlos lick his lips, and then Ben felt his world shatter. How could he pretend to be something he wasn’t when someone like Carlos existed? _

_ “Ben?”  _

_ Ben kissed him. He backed Carlos against the nearest tree - the one Carlos had tried to climb only moments earlier - and kissed him, all his feelings spilling out. Carlos had kissed back, one hand fisting into messy light brown locks, the other twisting into the fabric of Ben’s yellow practice shirt. Ben gripped Carlos by the back on the neck, his other hand on his waist, holding him close. It was only the low growl Ben let out when Carlos pulled away for air, that he realized what happened. _

_ “Oh shit,” Carlos had mumbled, eyes wide in fear - he tried to not focus on the way Ben’s eyes seemed to be an even darker green as he stared at him. Carlos just pushed him away and ran. _

_ Ben couldn't bring himself to chase him, even though he really wanted to. _

_ They had never talked about what happened, even though Ben thought they should- every chance he got, he was touching Carlos in same way , and Carlos had found himself leaning into the touch. _

_ And then, like being hit with a bulldozer, Carlos felt his heart crush - Mal and Ben were dating; for real this time, no Love Potion #9 controlling their feelings. _

_ It was only when Ben had looked at him at his Coronation that Carlos thought, maybe... _

_ … _

Ben opened his eyes, not realizing he had drifted off in the limo that was taking him back to the school. He remembered the feel of Carlos’ lips on his own like it was yesterday, but according to everyone (and the date on his phone), it was over six months ago. He looked at Mal, who sat next to him. She had waved her fingers, and Doc had let him out with some pain medicine and a check up in one month. Ben was grateful she was okay with just being friends with him - he was done hiding from the world, and from himself.

“So, where we goin’?” she asked as the limo pulled up outside the school. Fairy Godmother had pulled the press away, and the school grounds seemed deserted.

“I need you to do one more favor for me.”

“What?” Ben looked at her, so glad she wasn’t avoiding the topic. She might not be so nice when he found out who he was interested in.

“I need you to get Jay away from Carlos.” Mal’s eyes narrowed and she scowled.

“Oh no. Please tell me you don’t mean what I think you mean.”

“Mal-”

“ _ Not Carlos. _ ”

“Mal…”

“Holy hell.” She slapped his arm, eyes growing dangerously green. “You have got to be kidding me. If you hurt one hair on his head I will-”

“I would never hurt him! Please, just hear me out.” She scowled but nodded - it seems all her good-will towards him flew out the minute he said Carlos’ name.

“I’ve been attracted to Carlos ever since the four of you arrived. Then, it turned into something else. It a stronger feeling than I had ever felt before. I kissed him, and it was like… like I was complete, ya know?” Ben’s voice was softer, and Mal felt her scowl droop a bit. “And he kissed me back,  I know he felt what I felt. I can't keep lying about this. It's not fair to him, or to me.”

“That asshat let me spell you, even when… Ugh I’m going to kill him.” Ben laughed and met Mal’s eyes - the glowing had faded, but she still watched him. “I can ask Jay to stay at practice a little longer, and maybe Evie can stall him too.”

“Thank you.”

…

Carlos was knocked out of his thoughts when a hurried knock sounded at the door. He hoped it was Evie with news on Ben, or maybe Mal was back. The knock came again, urgently. He jumped up to open the door, feeling like his heart had stopped when he saw Ben standing there. Carlos tried not to stare at him, but he really was stunning - he just wore a plain white button down and blue slacks, but Carlos was just glad to see him; he felt his heart ache at the sight of him. Ben looked at Carlos, glad to see much hadn't changed at first glance - in red shorts and a black and white shirt, he was still there.

“Ben,” he said, and Ben had to stop himself at the way Carlos said his name. His heart was aching in the same way Carlos’s was. “You’re okay.”

“Carlos…” Ben knew this was him - he had lost six months of his life, six months of becoming King, just to be granted this second chance. Ben held out a hand, and Carlos took it without a second thought. Ben yanked him to him, kissing him, trying to muster up all the feelings he felt, ever since he had first laid eyes on him, in this one kiss. Carlos kissed back, making the kisses grow heated way too fast for their liking. Ben pushed Carlos, lips never leaving each other long enough except for little gasps of air. He pushed Carlos into his room, kicking the door closed with his foot before he spun them, pinning Carlos against the door. He fumbled for the lock, making sure to hear it click.

Carlos groaned into his mouth, and Ben was absolutely sure this is what he wanted his life to be like. Only when Carlos pulled away, eyes blown wide with lust did Ben stop to think that he hadn’t even  _ asked _ if this was okay.

“What… What?” he asked, not seeming to be able to make a full sentence. He could see how dark Ben’s eyes looked, and knowing that he did that, and made his lips look so swollen and, fuck, Carlos was really confused. He made  _ Ben _ , the most composed person he knows, look like  _ that _ .

“I want to be with you. I’m gay, and I want to be with you Carlos. Please… please tell me you want to be with me, because I really want to kiss you again.” Carlos licked his lips, and smirked when Ben let out a soft moan at the action.

“What about… Mal? They said you… don’t remember-”

“I don’t love Mal. I thought if I saw her, I would remember, but Carlos, I’m gay. I tried to pretend I wasn’t, but fuck it. I want to be with you, and the last thing I remember before waking up in the hospital, was you. Was kissing you, and I knew I didn’t want to pretend anymore.” Carlos felt like he couldn’t breath, and Ben placed his forehead against his, bracing both hands against the heavy oak door, essentially locking Carlos in place. “Ever since I first met you, I knew-”

“Me too,” Carlos said quietly, and he knew what Ben meant. It wasn’t… wasn’t something he was used to, but fuck it, he wanted Ben too, in that same, heart-racing way. “I really want you to kiss me again. Please.”

“Fuck,” Ben muttered as he leaned down - pleased to see that Carlos was still slightly shorter than him - pressing his lips in feverish small kisses over and over against Carlos’s lips. He felt Carlos’s hands slip down his chest, gripping at buttons on his shirt. Ben pushed his own fingers underneath Carlos’s shirt, hitching a bit when he felt smooth skin under his fingers.

Honestly, Carlos had no idea what he was doing - he just kind of let his instincts take over, and they were telling him that Ben needed his shirt off, like 10 minutes ago. Ben apparently got the message because he pulled one hand from underneath Carlos’s shirt to help get the buttons undone. He shrugged off the shirt before he got Carlos to pull his off. They took this chance to catch their breath, and Ben got to really look at Carlos.

He understood that he had lost six months, which is why he still remembered Carlos as the slight, somewhat skittish kid from the Isle, but that wasn’t right. Carlos had grown in those lost months - he was taller, a little broader, and his hair was longer. His eyes were still that wide, deep brown that he had fallen for, and his lips were still as delectable as they had been when he had first kissed him.

“What?” Carlos asked, nervous now. He was standing chest to chest,  _ bare chest  _ at that, with not only the guy he was crazy about, but the  _ King _ . It unsettled him a bit, the way Ben’s eyes recklessly roamed over him. He felt his face begin to burn as he took in Ben’s body before him. Ben was still taller than him - almost everyone was, but he was catching up - and he was more tan than Carlos was, and more muscly too - of course he would be, he played sports and probably worked out all the time. Stupid muscly jock king.

“I just.. didn’t realize how much I missed you,” Ben said softly, cupping Carlos’s face in his hands, leaning down to kiss him much more softly than before. He felt Carlos’s hands shake as he placed them against Ben’s bare chest, and he began to slowly deepen the kiss. Ben moved one hand around the slighter male’s neck, while the other one trailed over the smooth, freckled skin. He groaned as Carlos pulled his lips away again though - instead of fighting it, he just began to leave soft small kisses over the expanse of his cheek, up by his ear, and was currently working on his neck, loving the small gasps that Carlos emitted every now and then. 

Carlos, even though he knew what  _ he _ wanted, still wasn't completely convinced about Ben, even with his lips on his neck.

“B-Ben,” he stuttered out, his hands splayed over Ben’s chest, his breathing just as fast as his own. “Are you… are you sure this is what you want? That you want… me? That this isn’t some result from the head trauma or something?” He felt Ben laugh against neck, where his face still rested.

“Carlos,” he said, moving to where his lips were just by the other’s ear. “It’s always been you. I was just too scared to do anything about it. Now, I’m not. Hitting my head was the second best thing to ever happen to me.” Ben nipped at Carlos’s ear, grinning at the way his breath hitched and his head lolled to the side a bit. He felt Carlos kind of begin to sag against him, so he nudged his legs a bit with one hand, hoping that Carlos got the hint.

He did, lifting up a bit until his legs were wrapped around Ben’s waist, with Ben pinning him against the door, one hand around his lower back - well, his ass, but Carlos tried not to focus on that - the other coming back to wrap around the back of his head, pulling him closer. Their mouths met harshly now, nipping and kissing sloppily, until Carlos pulled away,  _ again _ .

This time wasn’t  for questions though - this time he kissed his way across Ben's face, and down his neck, kissing and biting every inch he could get to. Ben growled at the feeling of Carlos’s lips on his skin before he realized he felt something else. Carlos was pressed so tightly against him, that Ben could feel how hard he was against him - he was pleased to see Carlos was just as aroused as him. He moved back a bit,  both hands holding up Carlos, who gripped onto his shoulders. “What-”

He was cut off by them turning and falling to Carlos's bed. Ben laughed, which made Carlos smile,  and began to kiss the freckled skin below him - Carlos moaned again and fisted one hand in Ben's hair, the other one touching any expanse of skin he could reach. Ben gave an experimental roll of his hips against Carlos's, and by the way Carlos titled his head back and bit his lip, that was a good sign. He was just about to do it again, when a loud bang sounded on the door, making Carlos jolt while Ben pulled away.

“YO LOVEBIRDS,  EVIE JUST TEXTED ME. JAY'S ON HIS WAY BACK.” Ben groaned and looked at Carlos, who was blushing and looking anywhere but at the shirtless,  ruffled King in front of him. Ben leaned over and gave him quick kiss before he pulled away, having to stop himself from doing more.

“I have to go. There is no doubt in my mind that Jay will kill me if he sees us like this.” Carlos chuckled and finally met Ben’s eyes - it was  _ definitely  _ unsettling, the way Ben watched him, his green eyes dark and passionate and possessive and Carlos  _ was not _ used to anyone looking at him like this.

“THREE MINUTES.” 

Carlos wanted to say something, anything, but he was so scared now. Now that he could think clearly, he realized this would be a  _ serious _ problem. His mouth opened and closed a few times as he watched Ben get up and quickly button up his shirt. He leaned down, giving Carlos another kiss, and another, before the banging began to get more frantic and loud.

“I'll come get you for breakfast.  I love you,” he murmured against Carlos's lips, and then he rushed out of the room. Carlos caught a flash of purple following him before the door closed, so he just slipped his shirt on and rolled onto his stomach on his bed, trying to act like he had been resting while waiting for Jay, and not like he was two minutes away from having sex with the fucking  _ King. _

**_Oh, this was so, so bad._ **

...

Ben hadn't gone far, slipping into the girls’ room right as Jay got to his own. Ben breathed a sigh of relief, resting his head briefly against the door, remembering how good it felt to kiss Carlos, to have him in his arms. He never wanted to let go. He smiled to himself, glad that he had finally owned up to himself, and  _ fuck,  _ how sad was it that all he wanted to do was run back to Carlos and be with him again? But then, he turned around, and thought that perhaps, there was some minor damage control he had to do first. 

There were two Isle girls staring at him, one looking extremely angry while one looked amused.

“ _ What the hell are you thinking?”  _ Evie hissed through her teeth, stepping closer to him, eyes narrowed. He had nowhere to go, so he just gave her a strained smile. “If you think  _ I'm  _ scary, wait until you tell Jay what just happened. And what do exactly do you plan to do with Carlos? Because right now you're coming off as kind of a playboy, and king or not, I will break both your arms and gouge your eyes out if you hurt him.”

“Woah,” he mumbled - he had always seen Evie as calm, and level-headed. Right now though, she was every part Isle that she tried so hard not to be. And honestly - Ben was scared of her right now.

“E, let him explain,” Mal said, leaning against the wall. Evie turned to her, eyes hard.

“And you! How can you be okay with this? I thought he was your boyfriend!”

“Yeah, we kinda broke up. Ya know, the whole gay thing,” Mal said, waving her hand in acknowledgment. “Besides, no offense, but I saw the way they went at each other. I never want to do anything like that, or see  _ that _ ever again. Ugh.”

“What?” Evie asked, confused now. Mal deserved happiness, and Evie didn't understand how she could be so okay with this.

“I don't know how to explain it exactly. It's like…” Mal stopped, trying to find the right words. “Let's say, if either one of you wanted to have sex with me or any of that romantic, goopy stuff, I would say no thanks, because I'm not… it doesn't do anything for me. I don't have any interest in stuff like that. Does that make sense?”

“Asexual,” Ben said, causing the two girls to look at him.  “I read about it when I was.. trying to figure myself out. It means someone that has no desire for sexual contact. Not to be confused with aromantic, which means you feel no desire for romance.” 

“That,” she said, pointing at Ben and looking at Evie, “is what's up.”

“Okay, we will come back to that conversation later,” Evie said, whipping back around to face Ben. “You. What are your intentions with Carlos?”

“I love him.”

“You said the same thing about Mal.”

“I did. And I do. But more like family, a sister I didn't want, but got stuck with anyway.”

“Hey!” Evie waved a hand at her, eyes not leaving Ben's. 

“And?” she asked, eyes still hard.

“I think…. I think he might be my True Love,” Ben said softly, and he watched Evie's whole demeanor change. Her shoulders sagged and her eyes softened.

“Oh.” Evie was a sucker for romance, but this… she saw the way Ben seemed to stare off into space when he said that, as if all of his thoughts were gone somewhere else. His lips shook slightly as he met her eyes.

“I love him so much Evie. I don't… I haven't ever…”

“I get it,” Evie said,  nodding. “You won't hurt him.”

“Never.” She nodded again and turned away, giving him a chance to compose himself. 

“M?”

“Yeah so… Jay is coming over, so you two can talk this out, the whole bro-thing right, and E and I are gonna go talk to Carlos. BYE!” Mal said, pushing Ben aside and strolling out the door. He looked at Evie, who shrugged. 

“Good luck. If you thought I was bad, just wait. If Jay tries anything,  just duck and run, okay?” Ben nodded, getting more worried by the second. She patted his arm and walked out, leaving him to gather himself for only a few minutes before Jay opened the door.

“Hey man. You feeling any better? They said you whacked your head pretty good,” Jay said as he came in. “Where are the girls?”

“I'm okay. A little confused, but things are getting clearer,” he said, rubbing the back of his head, which was beginning to ache again. The way Jay acted,  they must have become good friends over the last few months. Maybe this wouldn't so bad.

“They said you were having trouble remembering stuff. You okay? Need help with something? You know I got your back man.” Ben smiled, and then coughed.

“Actually… I would like to talk to you.”

“Sure. What's up?” Ben was stalling, mulling over how to start up this conversation - one thing at a time.

“Jay, I'm gay.” The more Ben said this, the more relaxed he felt. Why had this seemed so hard before,  so hard to admit something that made him who was?

“Oh.” Jay looked speechless before he gave a short snort. “You're not like, coming onto me are you? Cuz I'm flattered, really, but I'm not-”

“No, no no,” Ben said as he laughed, glad that this seemed okay. “I just… I need to talk to you about something, and this was an important part of it.”

“Mal knows, right?” he asked as Ben nodded. “Okay. Shoot.” 

He took a deep breath, held his hands down at his sides, and squared his shoulders. He would just act like he was in a meeting, he was just speaking,  and then he would be done. He could do this. Just like a meeting.

“I'm in love with Carlos.” He watched a mixture of emotions cross Jay's face - surprise, confusion, anger, lots of anger - so he hurried on. “I want to be with him, and am planning on-”

“No.” Jay cut Ben off simply, dark eyes directed at him as he sneered. “HELL. NO. Whatever you're thinking, just stop right there.” Ben watched him, wary. “I don’t give a shit if you're gay, more power to you. But you can't even  _ look _ at Carlos. Do you understand me? I don't know if this some rich-kid scheme to go through all of us VK's, but it ends here. You lay a hand on Carlos, and I will make sure you never walk again.” Jay was breathing hard, having taken a couple steps closer to the king, who stood his ground. No, he wouldn't go down now, not without a fight,  not when he was so close. He closed his eyes, remembering Carlos’s warm hands on his chest, his hand in his hair, the way he had looked at him, and he opened his eyes and growled - an annoying habit he had picked up from his father that he couldn't shake. Right now though, he didn't care.

“No.” Jay seemed slightly taken aback, not too used to people arguing back. Ben stared him down, his own eyes hard and flinty as he met Jay's glare head-on. “I love him. I want to be with him, and he wants to be with me too.”

“And what makes you think he would want some snotty king like yourself?”Jay asked, still angry. Carlos was his _ family _ .  _ His brother.  _ No way would he let some…  _ guy _ take him away. Especially not someone like this wishy-washy king that couldn't seem to make up his mind.

Ben tried to not let that thought in - Carlos had to feel something for him, right? He had kissed back,  had even said he had wanted him too. Right? 

Ben and Jay just met eyes, both scowling at the other, before Jay stomped out of the room. Ben let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. 

That could've gone worse… right?

…

Evie sat next to Carlos on his bed, running her fingers through his hair. He still laid on his stomach, not looking at them. They had come over to talk while Ben talked to Jay. He was worried how that conversation would go.

Mal leaned against the window by his bed, staring at nothing. Carlos mumbled something, making the two girls look at him. 

“What?” He sighed and turned his head to look at Mal.

“Do you hate me?”

“What?! Why would I…” her voice trailed off as his big brown eyes locked onto hers. She sat down on the bed in a huff and jabbed a purple nail into the tip of his nose. “No. Even if I was upset,  _ which I'm not, _ I couldn't hate you if I tried.” She pinched his cheek, making him grumble and turn his head away. “I don't love Ben. I don't think I ever did. And he definitely does not love me. He loves you.” Carlos grumbled again, voice muffled by his pillow.  Evie hummed and continued petting his hair.

“Do you love him?” Evie asked,  and she felt Carlos stiffen under her touch. “C?” He rolled over onto his back, and the two girls moved to lay on either side of him.

“I don't know! I haven't really had any good examples of love in my life.”

“That's not true,” Evie said, looking at him. “I love you. Mal loves you-” there was a snort next to him and Carlos had to smile. “Jay loves you. And you love all of us, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. But… how do I know if Ben just… thinks he loves me, when it's really a concussion or something?”

“Oh please, now that we have confirmation that he's gay, I feel like an idiot for not noticing sooner,” Mal snarked, making both Evie and Carlos laugh.

“Valid point,” Evie said, turning her attention back to Carlos. “Didn't you say that he kissed you  _ before _ all of this happened though?” She watched as a small smile came onto Carlos’s face, and could easily tell that, yes, he was completely in love with the young king. He might not know it yet, but she’d let him figure that part out for himself.

“Yeah. When he was helping me train for tourney, and then he introduced me to Dude. And he just smiled at me and… I don’t know, he kissed me.” There was a deep pink blush spreading over his freckled cheeks, but he still had that dopey smile. Mal hated to ruin the mood, but she had to ask something, something that had been on her mind since the ride back to the school with Ben.

“C, if you had feelings for Ben, why did you let me spell him?” Carlos looked at Mal, and sighed. “You could’ve done it. He obviously had feelings for you too. I just don’t get why you didn’t say anything.”

“I just… I couldn’t risk it. I was afraid if I had given him that love cookie, and he did fall in love with me, then, I wouldn’t have been able to do what our parents needed us to do. It sounds stupid now, but at the time-”

“Yeah, we know,” Evie said, reaching for one of his hands. Mal grabbed the other one, and they just laid there, in comfortable silence with each other.

Or, it was ,  until a very angry Jay stormed into the room.

…

Jay was so mad. How could Ben even think he was good enough for someone like Carlos? He stormed into his room, finding Mal and Evie laying down with Carlos. His entrance made all three sit up, and the two girls shifted a little, so that the youngest of the group was behind them.

“What the fuck did he do to you?” Carlos looked down at his hands, not really wanting to discuss what he had been doing with Ben earlier in the day; he knew it would just make the situation worse. He felt like he was back on the Isle, his mom yelling at him for one thing or the other.

It hurt to breath.

“Tell me what the hell happened!”

“Jay, stop,” Mal said, standing up. “This isn’t Carlos’s fault.” Jay rounded on her, but Mal could stand her ground - she could see how upset Carlos was getting, and she had to cool down Jay before he said something he regretted. 

“Damn right it’s not his fault. I don’t know what kind of shit Ben’s pulling, but it stops now. Do you know Audrey told me he dated 4 other girls before her, in about six months? He’s just some jerk who uses girls and then throws them away. Now he thinks he can use Carlos and I will kill him before that happens.” Jay was so loud, so angry, that he didn’t hear the scared whimper that escaped from Carlos. Evie slipped an arm around his shoulders and squeezed him to her side. 

“He isn’t using you,” she whispered in his ear, and he gave a shaky nod. Jay was still angry though, and that wasn’t something Carlos wanted to deal with.

His chest hurt. 

“Jay. Listen to me,” Mal said, her own voice rising a bit. “The only reason Ben ever dated  _ any _ girl, was because he was gay but was trying to be straight, since he felt he needed to be. But his dumbass fell in love with Carlos, because they’re-”

“Mal,” Evie gave a warning call, and she glanced back at them. Carlos had gotten very pale, very fast, and his breathing was coming in short whimpers.

“Right. Jay. You’re upsetting Carlos. You need to stop.  _ Now _ .” Jay hated seeing Carlos look like this, so small and scared, but he was so angry still.

“Los,” Jay said, trying to tone down his voice. “You need to stay away from Ben. I don’t want to see you get hurt. He’s not worth it.” Carlos tried to gulp in air, but he couldn’t breathe, and it was getting harder to focus on anything. As gently as he could, he pushed Evie away and stood up - if he could get to the door, and get outside to the fresh air, he could think. His mind was so jumbled, but he knew one thing.

“How do you know?” he asked, his voice thick as he tried to pull air into his lungs. “How do you know if he loves me or not? And why the fuck does it matter to you?” Carlos stared at Jay, who just stared back, face sullen. “If we want to be together, we will be. But you’re right Jay - I should stay away from him. Not because he isn’t worth it though. It’s because I’m not.” A few tears slipped down Carlos’s cheeks, and he knew he was done.

He bolted - he ran from the room, down the hallway, and out of the school. He didn’t care where he went, as long as he could finally breathe.

…

Evie glared at Jay, who sighed as he flopped on his bed - all the anger had left him the minute Carlos had stood up to face him. Evie faced Mal, who already had her phone out. She was tapping rapidly on the screen, face hard as she waited for what appeared to be a response. She must have gotten one, because she gave a little sigh of relief before she met Evie’s eyes, giving her friend a quick nod.

They would handle Jay, and knew Carlos would be in good hands.

“You really fucked up, you know that?” Mal said, staring down at Jay, who grimaced.

“I just wanted to protect him. He’s my best friend. He’s my brother. Who knows what that stupid king will do to him.”

“That ‘stupid king’ was one of your best friends a few days ago remember?” Jay just grunted, but didn’t respond. Mal looked at Evie, face annoyed. Evie nodded and moved from her spot, still on Carlos’s bed, and came to stand by Jay’s head.

“Jay, sweetie, I need you to listen very carefully to me,” she said, the harmonic sound of her voice drawing him in. “Ben believes that Carlos is his True Love. Don’t try to break them up again, okay?” she gave him a sickly sweet grin, and he could see the threat a mile away. ‘Whenever you see Carlos next, you must apology, okay?” Jay grunted, but nodded this time. Mal was impressed - she could scare and torment with the best of them, but Evie just had that ‘listen to me or i’ll kill you’ voice that just made you agree. 

Mal needed to learn that trick.

…

Ben had gotten to his own dorm - his parents had said he didn’t need one, but he figured it was more convenient than running back and forth between the castle and school every day and night - and had gulped down some pain medicine, when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket.

He was sure it was his parents, worried about him and checking up on him, and yes there were a couple from them, but there was also a message from Mal.

‘ **SOS. Jay yelled, Carlos got upset and took off.’** Ben felt another growl rumble in his chest - he had to stop doing that - before he texted her back.

**‘On it.’** He slipped on a jacket and hurried out of the room, slamming the door behind him. He wasn’t sure where he was going, but he didn’t care - he just knew he had to find Carlos, and make sure he was okay.  _ Oh, the next time he saw Jay… _ he thought, annoyed that the former thief would treat his Carlos this way. He made his way to the tourney field, looking around. He wanted to call out to Carlos, but knew he probably wouldn’t get an answer. He headed towards the woods, thinking of the spot where he had first kissed Carlos, right after he had introduced Dude. He hoped he would be there.

…

Carlos leaned back against the tree, not surprised that this was where he ended up. He could breathe now, and he could think clearly.

Ben had kissed him  _ months _ ago, before he hit his head. He had made the first move. But things had looked bleak when he began to date Mal. But then Mal wanted to break up with him - they all knew she didn’t love Ben, she had told them herself, and how she thought he didn’t love her. And now, Ben had admitted, not to just Carlos, but apparently to the rest of the VK’s, that he was gay, and had always been gay. 

And he wanted to be with  _ Carlos _ . That was the part he couldn’t wrap his head around. Ben wanted to be  _ with him _ . Ben was this ray of sunshine, that just brought warmth with him everywhere he went; Carlos was not. Carlos was the dark, gloomy cloud that just tried to ruin everyone’s day. He really wasn’t worthy of the King; hell, he really shouldn’t even be his friend, but now he was on a path that led to much more than that.

Carlos closed his eyes, remembering how good it felt to be wrapped in Ben’s arms as they kissed - he knew he would never get that feeling out of his head ever again, and maybe he didn’t want to. He had enjoyed it, he knew that. But did he love Ben? Could he even love? He enjoyed spending time with Ben - they got along great, and they were comfortable with each other, and  _ oh yeah they had made out to the point that they were probably about to have sex in Carlos’s bed _ .

Couldn’t forget that - not like he wanted to. He was, after all, a 17-year old teenage guy, who happened to be attracted to other guys, and happened to have a raging make-out session with the 18-year old guy he happened to want to be with. But he might not be ready for that, and he kinda got the feeling Ben  _ might be _ , considering how he acted earlier.

That was what scared Carlos the most though - he  _ wanted _ to be with Ben too. He wanted to touch, to kiss, and to just… have Ben to himself. He had for a while now. 

_ And God, Ben wanted  _ **_him_ ** **.** He took a deep breath, mulling over that fact.

“Carlos?” Carlos looked up to see Ben coming towards him, a relieved smile on his face. Carlos gave him a wobbly grin - he hadn’t realized he was crying again until then.

“Ben.” Ben wanted to break down right there - it was the way Carlos said his name, so softly, with tears running down his cheeks. He swore to himself, he wouldn’t let anyone make Carlos cry again. He fell to his knees  and pulled Carlos to his chest, holding him tightly.

“It’s okay baby, I’m here. I’m right here with you. You’re okay.” He continued to talk softly to Carlos, who shivered in his arms. He wasn’t cold, not really. It was just the way Ben held him, and spoke to him, that made him shiver. He felt Ben let go with one arm, shrugging out of his jacket - it was an effort, considering he wouldn’t let go of Carlos to do so. He got it off though, and draped it over Carlos’ slighter shoulders. Carlos had stopped crying, and was just nuzzling his face against Ben’s chest, trying not to think about how good earlier had felt, skin against skin…

Nope, down Carlos. Bad. 

He finally sat up and faced Ben, who was just watching him - not quite like earlier, not lusty and longing; this time he gazed at him with possessiveness, and passion, and it made Carlos so scared to even  _ think _ that someone could love him, or want him in any way.

“You okay?” Ben asked, and Carlos realized he still had his arms around him.

“Yeah,” he mumbled, moving so he could rest his head on Ben’s shoulder. “Just… Jay said some things I didn’t want to hear.”

“Like what?” Ben asked, trailing his fingers up and down Carlos’s back - even with a shirt and jacket, it still made him shiver.

“That.. that you used to date a bunch of girls. That you were using me. And that I should stay away from you.” Ben was quiet for a moment, his fingers still trailing over Carlos’ back.

“Every girl I have ever dated - besides Mal, I assume - was picked by my mother. She wasn’t worried, not really,  that I hadn’t dated anyone, but apparently the future king had to have a girl on his arm, and it concerned her that I didn’t show any… interest, in any girls. So, she found who she thought would be a nice, presentable girl for me to go out with. None of them ever lasted very long, because, as you know already, I’m gay, and not interested in dating girls.” Carlos chuckled a bit, scooting a bit closer to Ben. “As for using you, I could never imagine doing that to anyone, let alone you. You… you are the most beautiful, caring, sweetest person I’ve ever met, and I’m about 99 percent sure that I fell in love with you as soon as I saw you. Never believed my mom when she told me Love at First Sight existed. Guess who was wrong about that?” Carlos chuckled again, slipping an arm around Ben’s waist as they snuggled down onto the ground. “And the last part… do you want to stay away from me? Because if I completely misread the situation, let me know now, and I’ll back off. I don’t want you to feel like you have to be with me just because I want to be with you. I would never forgive myself if I pressured you into something you didn’t want.”

Carlos knew he was being given an out - that he could just walk away, and they could pretend this never happened.

“I want to be with you too,” Carlos whispered, and Ben pulled him tighter against him. “But… you need to understand… I’m not… I don’t… Love doesn’t exist on the Isle,” he said, sitting up and pulling his knees to his chest, not looking at Ben while he talked. He could feel his eyes on him, but Carlos had drifted off somewhere else. “Since I was a kid, it was known that, if you expressed any kind of good feeling - happiness, love, kindness - that you were weak, and the weak would be punished and weeded out. We were always told that Villains weren’t allowed those feelings, and if we felt them, then we weren’t villains after all. I was always the runt - smaller than the rest, weaker. But I was fast, and smart. And it was pretty clear to me that I would be torn apart if anyone ever knew that I was gay. The older I got, the more it became obvious, so I’m told by Evie. But by then, I was already on Mal’s good side, and no one messed with her ‘property’, so to speak. They saved my life so many times that I’ve lost count. But we all came away from the Isle scarred. I’m not good enough for you Ben, and I never will be.” Carlos looked at him now, eyes wide. “I want to love you, but I don’t know if I can.”

Ben moved to where he was kneeling in front of Carlos, getting close enough so that he could place his forehead against his own.

“Carlos. You are worth so much more than anyone ever told you. I love you, and I will remind you every day, as much as you need it, to make sure you understand how much you mean to me. You’re right, you’re not good enough for me. You are so much better. And I’m so lucky to have found you. And I don’t plan on ever letting you go.” Ben rubbed his nose along Carlos’, making the younger teen giggle. “If you think you  can’t love me, then I’ll just have to love you extra until you think you can.”

“What if you wake up tomorrow, and remember the last six months, and realize you don’t want to be with me?”

“I wanted to be with you way before I got hurt. This was like… a wake up call for me. It made me realize that I couldn’t keep lying to myself, because while I was in the hospital, all I wanted was to get to you.” Ben leaned in, giving Carlos a soft kiss. Carlos responded, bringing his shaking hands up to cup Ben’s face. Ben’s arms encircled him, bringing him closer to him. They kept the kisses soft, and Carlos could practically  _ feel _ the emotion rolling off of Ben. He wanted to feel that, to be so sure in his feelings that he could just… love someone. But he couldn’t, not yet.

Ben finally pulled away - he could kiss Carlos forever, he was sure of that - but he had to get Carlos back  to his friends.

Then, Ben had some people to talk to.

“Come on, I know a worried mother hen is waiting for you,” Ben said as he stood up, pulling Carlos with him. Carlos laughed, knowing he meant Evie - she did tend to worry when he disappeared.

“Okay. Are we… are we still on for breakfast tomorrow?” Ben grinned - he could see Carlos blush, even though it was getting dark out.

“I wouldn’t miss it,” Ben said, giving him another kiss as he laced their fingers together. He couldn’t believe he finally could do this, just simply hold Carlos’ hand and he would actually let him. “Now let's get you inside before they think I kidnapped you.”

...

Carlos slept over in the girls’ room that night, the three of them crammed together on one bed - it was their way of making him feel better, he knew that. And he loved them for that.

How could he so easily say he loved them, but not the guy that had turned his world upside down since he had first seen him? He snuggled down, Evie’s arm around his waist while Mal’s was behind his head. He thought about how he would have to deal with Jay tomorrow - at least Ben would be by his side, he was sure of that.

Focusing on that thought, Carlos was able to fall asleep.

…

After Ben made sure that Carlos was in good hands - and that he himself were on good terms with the two girls - he made a call to his mother.

“Ben! Oh are you okay? Did you make it back to school okay?” She was worried, he knew, but he had to do this.

“Are you and dad up for some company? I want to talk to both of you.” His voice was quiet, and serious, and his mom’s voice sobered.

“Are you alright?”

“Better than alright,” he said, and he could hear her sigh in relief. “Can I come by?”

“Benny, this is your home, you don’t have to ask. Your father and I will be in the sitting room. Be safe on your way over here.”

“I will. Love you mom.”

“I love you too Ben. See you soon.” Ben ended the call, hoping  that they weren't going to be too upset.

But he didn’t care - he finally had Carlos, and he wasn’t giving him up for anything.

…

Ben had rode his bike over to the castle instead of letting the limo take him. He enjoyed the feeling of the wind in his face and the feel of having all the control in where he was going, and what he was doing. Sure, he was King - at least they told him he was - but he was also an 18 year old teenager, who just wanted to have this one thing - well two if you counted Carlos - to himself.

When he had entered his home, he found his mother reading a book while his father seemed to be working on a crossword puzzle. He loved his parents, he did - but he was  scared that they wouldn’t understand.

“Ben! How are you feeling? Were you okay driving over here?” his mom asked, noticing how tense he seemed to be as he stood there, not coming to sit down. His dad was looking at him, looking concerned. “What is it? Is something wrong?”

“I’m gay,” he said softly, looking down at his feet. “I know I just got a head injury, and you’ll think that this is just something from the accident, but it’s not. I’ve been gay my whole life. And getting these last six months erased made me realize, I don’t want to be King if I can’t be myself.” Ben hated how he sounded - how could he be so strong talking to Carlos, when he couldn’t even look his parents in the eyes as he spoke. He only looked up when his mom’s soft fingers lifted his chin up. He hadn’t even heard her get up.

“Okay. It’s okay.” Ben nodded, happy to hear his mother say that to him. “Love is love Ben, there is nothing wrong with loving who we love. Okay? It’s okay.” She had always been good at calming him down. He nodded again, and looked at his dad, who was just sitting there.

“Dad?” His dad stood, giving him a small smile. Ben felt like a weight was just lifted off his shoulders as his dad came up to him, placing both hands on his shoulders, a familiar comfort to Ben. He smiled and nodded. 

“I’m proud of you for having the courage to tell us. Being King means taking care of your people, but  also yourself. Don’t ever hide who you are, okay? It’s not worth the pain it brings you,” he said as he stepped away. Ben watched his dad slip an arm around his mom’s waist, but she was looking at Ben.

“So…?”

“So…” Ben said, playing dumb. She grinned at him and waited. He finally wavered under her gaze. “There is… someone.”

“And…? Who’s stolen your heart?” Ben knew he was blushing by how his mother was trying not to giggle at him- he didn't even want to image the look that might be on his face when he thought about Carlos.

“I’ll bring him over tomorrow, okay?  _ After _ breakfast.” His dad clapped his shoulder before he left the room, leaving Ben with his mom, who was staring at him, as if waiting for something. “I think he’s my True Love, mom.” She nodded and smiled.

“I sure hope so, because I’ve never seen you this happy, and you deserve to be happy.” He chuckled as she hugged him, almost seeming to cradle him in her arms, much like she did when he was younger. “Now go get some sleep. I’m guessing you have a lot to do tomorrow.” 

…

Carlos woke to a pillow hitting him in the face. He glared at the culprit, who happened to be Mal, who just smirked. 

“Get up. Lover boy will be here soon, and Evie wants to get you dressed.” Carlos blinked - he had thought maybe he had dreamt everything with Ben, but no, he hadn’t he guessed.

“I can get myself dressed,” he said, swinging his feet so he could sit on  the edge of the bed.

“No you can’t, you just think you can. Now get your pretty little butt in here!” Evie called from the bathroom. Carlos groaned but got up, finding Evie standing excitedly next to an outfit that was hanging on the shower rod. “Now. I really put a lot of thought into this. I wanted to show Ben how you look now, while still keeping some of the flair from six months ago - I mean, yes you’re still as adorable as you were, but we also want to show off what he was missing. So go on, put it on!”

“Not until you get out,” he grumbled, making her tsk at him as she exited the pink tiled room, leaving him alone with the outfit. He sighed - he really couldn’t believe yesterday wasn’t a dream. Between worrying about Ben hurting himself and then finding out Ben had lost some memories, and he admitted to being gay and wanting to be with Carlos, Carlos had just kind of lost himself to the day.

But it was a new day, and he got to start it off by eating breakfast with his boyfriend.

_ Boyfriend _ . Holy fuck, Ben was his boyfriend.

Oh, this couldn’t end well…

Could it?

…

Ben stood outside the girls door for a good five minutes, trying to convince himself to knock. Carlos was on the other side of that door, waiting for him, and Ben was still just standing here, bouncing on his heels.

He was nervous - what if Carlos changed his mind, or just didn’t want to be seen with the king? Ben remembered how Carlos had looked last night, that soft smile as he kissed him goodbye. He could do this.

He knocked, and waited. He heard what sounded like a small scuffle, and then Mal opened the door, giving him her wide ‘everything is fine’ smile. He could see Evie standing at the bathroom door, where he could guess Carlos was hiding.

“Hi Benny-boo,” Mal said, and Ben had to laugh.

“Not gonna let that die are you?”

“Never. Come on in. Carlos is just BEING A LITTLE BITCH and hiding in the bathroom. He’ll be out in a minute.” Ben laughed again - not just because Mal had kept that smile on her face while she screamed at his boyfriend, but because he was currently  watching Evie seem to hiss something at the door to the bathroom. He guessed it was some kind of threat, because the door swung open soon after, and Evie seemed very smug as she tugged out a flustered looking Carlos, who just stared at his shoes.

Ben had to remember how to breathe. Carlos wore a pair of black skinny jeans, and when they said skinny, they meant  _ SKINNY _ . They clung to his legs, and Ben had to blink and remember he had to breathe (instead of imagining how Carlos’ ass must look in those jeans - now was not the time). Carlos wore a red and white short sleeve shirt, and a black and grey zippered vest that had red lining, and black fingerless gloves.

Ok, Ben, you gotta breathe, remember. Breathe. 

But then Carlos had to look at him, those eyes just taking him in. Ben had dressed down, much more down than his usual suits. He wore his own pair of dark blue denim jeans, something he didn’t get to wear often, and they were as pristine as the rest of the young king; he also wore a blue button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and the edge of a yellow shirt peeking out underneath it.

Okay, Carlos had to look away now. He glanced down at his shoes - his favorite boots, thank the stars that he was able to get away with those - they were rough and scuffed up, just like him. He glanced at Ben again,  and began to blush.

They just stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, Mal and Evie obviously forgotten. 

Evie was practically bouncing in place, happy that her outfit had the expected effect. Mal looked like she wanted to gag.

“Well. As nice as watching the two of you drool over each other is, GET OUT OF MY ROOM.” Carlos chuckled and Ben had to laugh too. He reached out a hand and was glad when Carlos grabbed it, letting him lead him out of the door, which was ungraciously slammed on them as soon as they were out of the way. Carlos shook his head, knowing Mal meant well. He looked down at his and Ben’s joined hands, and then up at Ben’s face.

“Come on,” Ben said, tugging Carlos along behind him, giving Carlos the chance to admire Ben’s own figure in his jeans.

“Where are we going?”

“For a ride. Then, breakfast. I promise.” 

…

Carlos had never ridden on any type of motorbike before, so he clung to Ben’s waist, amazed at how nice it felt to just be… going. Plus, he got to shamelessly hold onto his boyfriend. Win-win in his book. He saw them approach the castle, and he felt a sliver of worry.  But they passed it, and continued on to a little bit beyond the bright gleaming castle. Ben took a turn, and began to slow down. He saw them approach a small gazebo, and he chuckled, because Ben really was a hopeless romantic.

They pulled up beside it, and he could smell the delicious aroma of chocolate - Ben was going to do him in, and it hadn’t even been a full day yet. Ben got off the bike, helping Carlos off. Ben just stared at him, and Carlos broke eye contact first.

“Come on, let’s eat before it gets cold.”

…

Chocolate milk and chocolate chip pancakes. Ben had outdone himself. Carlos had to roll his eyes - how was he going to keep up with this guy?

“So…” Ben started, looking nervously at Carlos, who just stared back, shoving another bite of pancake in his mouth. He may have looked calm, but on the inside? He was a screaming mess. “I told my mom and dad I’m gay. Which means….My parents want to meet my boyfriend…” Ben said, waiting. Oh, this was too good to pass up. Carlos bit his lip as he thought , not missing the way Ben’s eyes stayed on his lips.

“Hmm… if you have a boyfriend, then you really shouldn’t have taken me out this morning.” He watched as all of the color drained from Ben’s face and he opened his mouth, looking extremely confused. 

And he was. He thought, well, after yesterday… But then he noticed a glint in Carlos’ eyes.. Ben laughed and hung his head.

“Right. You’re gonna make me do all the hard work aren’t you?”

“Well…” Carlos said, shrugging and licking his lips, giggling as he watched Ben’s focus completely come back to his lips. He brought his thumb up to his lips, gently chewing on it while he pretended to think. He could see Ben just watching, mesmerized by his every movement, and Carlos had to laugh because he was pretty sure Ben had no idea that he was doing it. It was only when Carlos’ tongue darted out to lick his lips that he noticed how dark Ben’s eyes had gotten.

“You’re a fucking tease,” Ben murmured, but he didn’t look mad. He looked… oh wow, Carlos would have to remember that trick for next time. “Either I take you inside to meet my parents  _ right now _ , or…” Ben didn’t have to finish his sentence; he had made the implication clear if the pink blush that was staining Carlos’ cheeks was any indication.  Ben stood up, pulling Carlos with him. Ben really just wanted to ravish Carlos right then and there, but no, not here, not now.

It seemed like they both had too much pent up energy they needed to work out.

“Carlos,” Ben said, and Carlos could hear the strain in his voice. “Will you be my boyfriend? Please.” Carlos grinned and leaned forward, close enough that Ben could feel his warm breath on his face, but he didn’t kiss him.

“Yes, King Ben.”

Okay, Ben really had to get himself in check here. “Let’s go say hi to my parents.” Carlos nodded, trying not to look at how Ben was watching him, or how strained his voice sounded - he had never known Ben to lose control like that, and Carlos wasn’t sure if he was proud of the fact that  _ he _ made that happen.

…

Queen Belle and King Adam weren’t too surprised to see Ben drag the De Vil boy into their castle  - Ben had always seemed to have had an infatuation with kids from the Isle, so him having fallen in love with a boy from there made sense to them.

“Mom, Dad, you remember Carlos. Carlos, you know my parents, Queen Belle and King Adam.” Ben looked antsy, so Belle made quick introductions. She swept up to Carlos, hugging him, which surprised him - mothers on the Isle didn’t  _ hug _ .

“Carlos. It’s so good to formally meet you,” she said, hands on his shoulders. He knew she was surveying him, judging him - what if he wasn’t good enough for her son? He knew he wasn’t, but it would be a low blow if he heard that from the Queen herself. She smiled at him, and he felt himself relax a bit - she had that loving smile that Evie gave him, and he thought that maybe she had found what she was looking for.

“Carlos,” King Adam said, shaking Carlos’ hand - he was pleased to see that, even though Carlos shrank back from him a bit, his handshake was firm. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He felt Belle tug on his arm, so he let go of the teen and stepped back. He saw his wife cock her head, and he got the hint. “Well, we have some meetings to attend, since King Ben is still… recovering from his fall. Why don’t you two go up to Ben’s room, watch a movie or something, just enjoy the day off.” Ben was so grateful that his parents - his mother, actually- could tell something was going on. Ben slipped his hands in Carlos’s and tugged him up the stairs and down a long hallway, to a large set of doors that had an ornately carved ‘B’ on them.

“That’s excessive,” Carlos muttered, making Ben chuckle as he pushed open the doors. Carlos knew it would be over the top - everything in this castle was - but  _ wow _ . He could see a large, probably extra-king size bed in one corner, a large screen TV with a wall full of movies to go with it, and a low couch, and there was an open door leading to a very very big bathroom. Not to mention that one whole wall was nothing but books. And of course, everything was in blue and gold. “Seriously, don’t you think this is a little much…” His voice trailed off as he saw Ben just staring at him, eyes still that devious dark green color. “Ben?” Ben didn’t say anything - he felt  _ weird _ .

Sure, yesterday he had pretty much pounced on Carlos the minute he saw him, but this.. his chest burned, like it had when he had first seen him, but Ben just felt… greedy. He just wanted to hole Carlos up and keep him all for himself. He wasn’t known for losing control this easily, it was a skill he was proud of, but right now, he didn’t know how long he could keep himself in check. It was like all of his feelings wanted to burst out of him at the same time, and he didn’t like how… wild he felt - well, he did, but he didn’t want to scare Carlos by pushing him just because he was… well, not a word he liked to use, but  _ horny _ . Ben took a deep breath and closed his eyes, leaning his head back against his door. Breathe in, breathe out. Repeat. He opened his eyes to find Carlos right in front of him. 

“Hi.”

“Hi…”

“You know you can kiss me without the internal freak out, right?” Ben didn’t look convinced, and Carlos had a brief flashback to yesterday, and to earlier today. He bit his lip and smiled at him. “Please kiss me, King Ben.  _ Please _ .” Yup, that broke him.

Ben felt a growl rip from his lips as he yanked Carlos to him, his heart feeling like it was going to just jump out of his chest. He kissed him, his teeth coming down to bite at Carlos’ lower lip. He whimpered, pretty much goo in Ben's arms. His hands rested on his shoulders, and that was about the only thing holding him up. Ben's hands were roaming over Carlos's body while he just essentially attacked Carlos's lips with his own.

There was something he really just had to do before he got too carried away -  _ who was he kidding he was too far gone now.  _ He moved his lips away from Carlos's,  latching onto his neck, feeling himself lose pretty much the rest of his control when he heard Carlos let out a strangled cry of “Fuck, Ben,”and twist his fingers into his hair. Ben's own hands traveled down the slim sides of his boyfriend before he gripped his ass, feeling Carlos buck against him.

Carlos had to control himself as he felt Ben grab him. When his body spazzed and met Ben's, he knew there was a problem. 

“Ben,” Carlos groaned, having to unlatch himself from his boyfriend. “Wait. We need to stop.” At that word, a warning light went off in Ben's head, making him move away, hands falling to his side, unable to bring himself to look at Carlos - he had completely lost control, and was worried he had pressured Carlos into going too far, or if he had gone too far himself. He just stared at his feet, waiting for Carlos to tell him off, or something,  _ anything _ really.

Carlos moved a little bit away from Ben, trying to bring his breathing back down and calm his racing heart. Ben wouldn't look at him, but that was okay - Carlos needed a minute to just see Ben, enjoy seeing him look so out of control. It was a nice contrast from the suits, the perfectly brushed hair, and that stupid royal grin. Ben's hair was standing up in the back, where Carlos had his hand in it. His shirt had come untucked, and his face was red and his lips were swollen and Carlos felt like he could just stare at Ben forever.

He stepped closer to Ben, making the young king meet his eyes. He looked worried.

“What?” Carlos asked, finding himself linking his fingers with Ben's. “What's wrong?”

“Are you okay? Did I go too far, or did I make you uncomfortable, because I am so sorry if I did, I have no exc-” Ben was cut off because Carlos kissed him, slowly and drawing it out, moving one hand to Ben's chest, right over his heart. Ben was kind of thrown, because so far he had been initiating all the kisses between them. He felt himself be drawn into Carlos, and really, could it be good that someone had this much control over him so easily? 

Carlos pulled away, leaving his hand on Ben's chest. “I'm fine,” he said, tilting his head down a bit - it was hard for him to look Ben in the eyes right now as he felt embarrassment take over any other emotion he might have had. “I just… I've never done anything like this before, not counting yesterday,” he said, chuckling a bit. He could feel a laugh rumble through Ben's chest underneath his fingers, and he took a deep breath. “I like what we did yesterday. I just… I'm nervous because I have no fucking idea what I'm doing.”

Ben laughed again, relieved Carlos wasn't mad at him, and that he would talk to him about this.  He brought a hand up to cup around Carlos's cheek, lifting up his face so he would look at him.

“That's okay. I don't either.” Carlos didn't look like he believed him, so now it was Ben's turn to be embarrassed. “Ok. I know…  _ what _ to do. But I haven't,” Ben said, shrugging off the rest of his sentence. 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay,” Carlos said, taking a step back and pulling Ben with him, his thoughts racing - he needed to bring Ben back down, as well as himself. “I don't know about you, but I want to watch a movie.” Ben nodded and led Carlos to the royal blue couch. Carlos kicked off his shoes and settled into one side as Ben put a movie in - some sappy romantic comedy because Ben really was a hopeless romantic. 

Ben joined him on the couch, looking uneasy. Yesterday had seemed so easy - now he didn't know what to do. 

“How's your head feeling?” Ben was grateful for the distraction, and grinned at Carlos.

“Fine. The medicine Doc gave me does the trick.” Carlos smiled and scooted closer, until they were side by side. He slid one hand into Ben's, and rested his head on his shoulder as they settled in to watch the movie.

And although Ben had a wild amount of emotions coursing through his veins, this is what he wanted more than anything - to just be with Carlos, nothing holding them back.

...


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time has passed, but is everything going as smoothly for the two of them as it could be?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was originally as just one really long oneshot. It's broken up in chapters for (hopefully) easier reading.

**_*One month later*_ **

Ben sighed as Doc examined the back of his head, probing at the spot where he had smashed it one month ago. 

Man, what a month Ben had gone through. He hit his head, lost half a years worth of memories, and then revealed pretty much to the whole Kingdom that he was gay.

And then he had been so lucky,  because the one guy that he wanted to be with wanted to be with him too.

Carlos De Vil, who had come into his life covered in chocolate and had the biggest, most beautiful brown eyes Ben had ever seen.

Carlos, who Ben was 100% sure was his True Love, had yet to tell Ben he loved him, but that was okay. Ben could see it in Carlos's eyes when he looked at him, could feel it in the way he touched him, the way he kissed him… Ben could wait; he knew it was harder for Carlos, and he would do anything to make sure he knew how much he was cared for.

Ben was pulled out of his thoughts when Doc let go of his head. 

“Well, you seemed to have recovered nicely. Have any headaches, dizziness, or blurry vision?” Doc asked, moving to sit in front of the young king.

“No. Everything has been fine.” He watched Doc scribble something down on a notepad before he smiled at him. 

“Haven't been doing too much strenuous activity?” 

“No, not particularly.” Not counting the time he held Carlos up against the door while they made out. That had only been the one time though. After that, they decided to slow down on things.

“Good good.” He scribbled something else and nodded. “Have any memories come back?” Ben nodded, trying to focus on some of the fuzzy things he knew from the months he had lost. “What do you remember?”

“My coronation, and… Maleficent showing up.” Doc wrote and nodded, waiting for Ben to continue. “I remember celebrating, and working so hard to be a good king. Meetings. Lots of meetings.” Doc chuckled and nodded. 

“That's good. I'm glad it's coming back, even if it's only in bits and pieces. That's a good sign.” Ben nodded and was glad when Doc told him he could go. He had stood up to leave when Doc caught his eye.

“Oh, one last thing Ben. If you feel up to it, you are welcome to go back to Tourney, and any other extracurricular activities you partake in. Just don't push yourself too far. Okay? You get dizzy or a headache, take a breather.”

“Thanks Doc,” Ben said, shaking his hand before he hurried out of the office. If he hurried, he would be able to catch Carlos at lunch. 

…

Carlos was indeed at lunch, sitting with Mal, Evie and Jay. It had been one month since he started dating Ben, and you would think people would stop staring at him by now.

Nope, apparently not. The students of Auradon Prep didn't seem phased by their King being gay - it was his choice in boyfriend apparently. 

Many students liked Carlos, but there were still a few -mainly those who were still under their own parents thumbs- that often gave him a hard time if Ben wasn't around.

But not today - Carlos ignored the stares and kept looking at his phone. Ben had gone to doctor for his checkup, and was supposed to let Carlos know how it went.

He stopped staring at his phone and focused on eating, feeling people's stares again. He just ignored it and shoved more food into his mouth.

And then an arm encircled his shoulders and he felt a kiss pressed to his hair as someone sat next to him.

“Hi baby,” Ben said, making the other three VKs snort in laughter - they all knew how much it embarrassed Carlos when Ben said stuff like that, and he was pretty sure they all knew so because Ben, even though he called him that in private, made sure to call him that  _ specifically  in front  _ of his friends.

“Hey,” he said, trying to will the blush to leave his cheeks,  but he knew it wouldn't. “How'd the appointment go?”

“Great,” Ben said, snatching a cookie from Carlos's plate, eating half of it before offering the rest to his boyfriend. “He said I'm healing up fine, and even cleared me to start Tourney again.”

“Oh thank God,”Jay said, paying attention to the conversation now. There had been some tension between the former thief and the king when Carlos had started seeing him, but Jay had admitted he overreacted, and apologized, so they were on speaking terms at least. “The team has sucked - well not me obviously - but the rest of the team has sucked without you. You'll be at practice today?”

“I plan on it,” Ben said, quirking an eyebrow as he felt Carlos put a hand on his leg. Besides that, Carlos seemed to completely be in a conversation with Mal and Evie, letting the other two talk sports. 

One skill Carlos had perfected on the Isle, and found useful here in Auradon too, was that he had gotten good at keeping his face blank as his mind began to turn. He was thinking about Ben saying he could go back to playing sports - Carlos had left the team not too long ago, before he and Ben had gotten together, so that wasn't what quite made the wheels in his mind start working.

No, it was something else, something that had just been nagging him lately. 

He would think about that later.

When Ben got back from practice.

…

Ben almost didn't make it to practice, because he was currently slowly and leisurely kissing Carlos, and he really didn't want to stop. They had secluded themselves in a small clearing by the field, not too far away from the path so Ben could go, but far enough away that they wouldn't be seen.

No one would have guessed, but Ben was  _ really _ into PDA - he would kiss Carlos any chance he got, even if it was just a quick brush of the lips as he went to a meeting, or surprising Carlos with a kiss on the cheek as he was in the hallway talking to someone. And he was always touching him - arm around his shoulders, around his waist, holding his hand; Ben was way more possessive than he would've thought.

Not that Carlos minded - he enjoyed that Ben didn't seem embarrassed by him. Even though he was constantly letting Carlos know how much he meant to him, he still was insecure - a  result of living with his mother. He had grown quite a bit since he left the Isle, and knew he wasn't _complete_ _trash_ , but still… someone as beautiful as _Ben_ loved _him._

Carlos had trouble believing that sometimes, but it seemed like everytime he did begin to doubt, Ben just swooped in and made him forget all his doubts.  

Like right now for instance - Carlos had been on his way to watch Ben practice - Ben had gotten to the point of begging for Carlos to be there before he agreed - when a gaggle of cheerleaders waltzed past him, chatting. When they spotted Carlos, they began to do that stupid tittering laugh that only seemed to come from girls in groups. He could hear part of their words as they hurried away, still laughing.

“ _ The king's boytoy… just a badboy phase… Ben could do so much better…” _ Carlos gritted his teeth, annoyed. Seriously, didn't these girls have anything better to do than gossip?

They stopped walking to stare as Ben, who had just left the changing room, saw Carlos and ran up to him, that stupid smile on his face that made Carlos smile.

Plus the fact that Ben was in a white undershirt and blue practice shorts was just a bonus.

“Hi baby,” he had said, swooping down to kiss Carlos like he always did. He pulled away and frowned. “What's wrong?”

“How can you tell from one kiss?!”

“Its a gift. What's wrong?”

“Gossip,” Carlos said with a shrug of his shoulders. His eyes betrayed him though as he looked at the girls watching them. Ben looked at them and frowned before he had looked back at Carlos. He gave a tug of his hand and pulled him down a side path, away from his practice.

Which is how they had ended up in the current position they were in now. 

Carlos pulled away, and Ben had to stop himself from following. He didn't realize how much he wanted to kiss Carlos all the time until he was able to have him in his arms.

“You gotta go to practice,” Carlos said, giving Ben a small smile as he pushed him away. “Go.”

“They went one whole month without me they can last 5 more minutes,” Ben said,  glad to see he had gotten a eye roll from him, which meant he wasn't giving up so soon.  He leaned back towards Carlos, who smiled as he leaned in too. They had just started to kiss again when they heard a voice on the main path.

“Um, Ben, I know you're, um, busy, but Chad threatened to come drag you away himself and Jay had to stop him, so I think you should come back now.” It was Doug, Evie's boyfriend, and Ben was glad band practiced at the same time because he really didn't want to deal with Chad right now.

He sighed and rested his forehead against Carlos's,  who just sighed as well.

“I have to go,  don't I?” Carlos laughed at the small  pout Ben was giving him and nodded.

“Yeah. I have some homework to do anyway. I'll see you afterwards.” Ben's cheeks began to turn pink as he took a deep breath. 

“W-well,” Ben stammered, making Carlos raise an eyebrow. Ben, who always seemed so confident, now seemed to be embarrassed as he spoke. “If you want, um, somewhere quiet to work,” he said, pulling a gold key from his pocket and placing it in Carlos's hand, “well, you know I have a single dorm.” Carlos looked at him in surprise. Ben gave him a cheeky smile and kissed his cheek before he backed away, not looking away from Carlos, who seemed to be stunned into silence. “I love you. I'll see you later.” Then, he turned and left the little clearing, now talking to Doug.

Carlos couldn't make out the words because he felt like his brain was spinning. He stared at the key, small and gold and  _ it had two keychains on it that were a crown and a dalmatian and Carlos couldn't breath. _

His boyfriend was so cheesy. 

He took a deep breath and tried to bring himself back from the edge of an anxiety attack.  Sure, they had spent time in each other's rooms before, but this… Ben was essentially giving Carlos permission to come and go as he pleased in his own personal space, even if he wasn't there.

Anxiety gave way to giddiness as he thought about that. He considered the possibilities - both romantic and not-so much - as he headed back to the school. 

…

Ben had finished practice and quickly showered so he didn't smell like sweat when he went back to his room. He had hoped he hadn't crossed a line, giving Carlos a key to his room. And he hoped that Carlos would be  _ in _ his room when he got there. Not that Ben wanted to do anything -  _ he was lying to himself;  _ he wanted Carlos. All he wanted was to have Carlos,  but he would not push or do anything neither of them were really ready for.

He just wanted to know Carlos was  _ there _ . He really did have it bad for him. He had talked to Evie about his feelings, since she was a romantic like him as well the only close friend of his that he didn't feel awkward around. He didn't doubt his feelings for Carlos for a second, or Carlos’ feelings for him, but he just wanted confirmation. Which he had gotten from her - she had told him Carlos was head over heels for him, he just hadn't come to realize it; give him time, he would realize sooner rather than later.

Ben thought about that as he grabbed his bag and began the trek back to campus. He only stopped his continuous thoughts when a hand clamped down on his wrist.

Chad.

Ben let out an aggravated huff as he turned to face his teammate, who looked pissed and smirky at the same time and Ben really didn't have time for this. 

Ever since he had come out as gay, everyone had been fine with it, no drama, no questions. 

Expect for Chad. 

Ben tried to pull away, but Chad had a surprisingly strong grip on his wrist.

“Okay, run it by me one more time,” he started, as if continuing a conversation they already had.  _ Which they did _ . Chad always bugged him about the same things. “You're gay.”

“Yes.”

“And you're dating De Vil.”

“ _ Carlos. _ And yes.” Chad frowned, as if trying to process this information that he had already heard too many times.

“I just don't get it. You're King, and I'm the most attractive guy at school, and you don't find me the  _ least _ bit attractive?! I mean, if the gay community doesn't find me attractive, am I losing my touch? Don't I have my mother's natural beauty? How can anyone  _ not _ be attracted to me? I'm perfect.”

Ben sighed, trying to not let his aggravation show as he took another step away. “Chad. You are the exact opposite of what I'm attracted to. You're not even  _ gay _ .  Now. Please let me go, I have things to take care of.” Chad let go, seeming to grumble as he strode away. Ben sighed and ran a hand through his hair. 

Chad was going to annoy him to death one of these days, he was sure of it.

As Ben made his way back to the school,  he didn't notice the tittering cheerleaders grouped around one phone, all giggling.

No, Ben didn't notice, but Doug did, and he had a feeling this wasn't going to be good.

…

Evie liked to keep up on the gossip and happenings of Auradon, and even had a notification on her phone to alert her if something interesting came up. Carlos had programmed that for her, the little tech genius he was. So, her phone dinged, and of course she checked it.

She wished she hadn't. 

She glanced at Mal, about to tell her what she saw, when her phone rang. Doug started rambling before she could even say hello.

“Darling, I think something is going to be spread about Ben and Carlos, and please know it's not true,  I saw everything myself, I mean I didn't hear anything but what they're saying isn't true Ben wouldn't do this.”

“Its already online,” she said, her heart dropping. “You find Ben, I'll find Carlos, and I'll have Mal get Jay. We need to make sure everyone knows this isn't true before it spreads any farther.”

“E?” Evie turned at Mal, who was looking at her phone in horror. 

“I have to go. Find Ben.” She ended the call and looked at Mal. “Its not true. We know that. Go make sure-” She was cut off when a loud yell of “WHAT THE FUCK” was heard down the hall. Jay had seen it too. “Go get Jay. I'm gonna find Carlos.” Mal nodded and the two girls hurried out of their room, heading in different directions.

…

Luckily, Ben and Carlos were a little too busy to notice what was going on. Currently, Carlos was straddling Ben, whose hands were on the slighter teens hips as Carlos held onto his shoulders. Both were fully clothed, but Carlos did manage to convince Ben to take off his shirt, leaving him in his white undershirt and khakis. Carlos could work with that. All they were doing was kissing, just enjoying the feel of each other.

No, they didn't hear their phones beep, too wrapped up in each other at the moment.

…

Obviously Carlos wasn't in his room, Evie mused, hurrying across the staircase to the next hall of rooms. She could hear muttering and the ding of people's phones going off, and she knew this was getting bad. She was running out of options - she had already called Lonnie, who was trying to reign in some of the chaos. No, she hadn't see Carlos  _ or _ Ben. Which was good. Maybe they were together.

Evie was finally panicking when she heard the whispers.

_ “Poor little island boy… really thought he cared about him… who knew the king had it in him...think Carlos would be up for some rebound-”  _ She stopped listening right there, doing her best to not snap at the people who were talking about her little brother this way. She caved and reached into her purse. She hated using her mother's mirror, but she needed to find Carlos, fast.

“Magic Mirror, answer this. Please show me where Carlos is.” She waited as the fog in the mirror cleared to show a closed door.

Room B7. Ben's room. She sighed in relief as she hurried down the hall. Maybe she wasn't too late. She pulled out her phone to let Doug know she had found them, and would meet him and Mal back in her room to figure out how to stop this.

…

Jay was sitting down, his leg shaking angrily. He didn't want to be sitting down, he wanted to be up and finding Ben and -

“If you calm down and listen to me, I'll let you go.” He glanced at Mal, who stood in front of him, spellbook in hand. Jay huffed. It wasn't like he could respond to her. He could only glare, and think about what he was going to do when he found the so-called ‘golden king’.

Mal really hoped Evie was having better luck than her.

…

Carlos and Ben were really getting into this makeout session - currently Carlos had his hands tangled in Ben's hair, letting out little gasps as Ben proceeded to nibble at every inch of skin on his neck he could find, determined to find the sensitive spot he knew Carlos had. Ben's hands were underneath Carlos's shirt, one on his back, one on his side. He could feel multiple scars run cross the freckled skin under his palms, but that didn't deter him.

It was when Carlos let out what sounded like a whimper, and his hips thrust down on Ben's, that he knew he had found the spot he was looking for. It was right there, where his jawline curved down, and Ben was glad he had found it.

_ Carlos had found his spot a few minutes earlier, by pure accident. It was right below his ear. _

Ben was content to suck on that spot until a nice red mark etched it's way into the skin, as long as  he could hear Carlos make that noise again. But no, Carlos had other plans. He pulled on Ben's hair, intending to bring his face back up to his. But instead, Ben let out a growl and pulled Carlos closer to him as he met his eyes. Carlos had his lips parted in surprise, not expecting that reaction, so Ben leaned forward, catching his lips with his. 

In response, Carlos ground his hips down, which drew out a long moan from the King. Two could play this game.

They continued on like this for a couple more minutes, until Ben's phone starting blaring out a loud trumpet version of the Royal call. He pulled away from Carlos with some reluctance. 

“That's my dad's ringtone. I have to answer it,” Ben muttered, bringing up the phone to see he had multiple notifications. Keeping Carlos on his lap - like he was gonna let him get up now - he answered the phone. Ben's face held confusion as he listened to his father's voice.

Carlos wondered what was going on. Ben didn't look too happy with what he was hearing now.

“Yes. I'm at school. Yes, in my room. What does that have to do with anything? Okay. I'll be there as soon as I can.” Ben ended the call and looked at Carlos, who had rested his head on his shoulder.

“Kingly business?”

“Something. Dad is all wound up, so I have to be diplomatic for a few minutes. Will you wait here for me?” Carlos nodded, and Ben smiled, kissing him quickly. “Good. When I get back, we'll get dinner, and then, maybe….?” Ben asked, wiggling his eyebrows. Carlos had to laugh as he got off of him.

“Go put a shirt on  _ your highness _ .” Ben chuckled as he pulled a blue polo over his undershirt. 

“I'll be back as soon as I can,” he said, leaning down to give Carlos one more kiss. “I love you.” Carlos smiled at him as he left the room. 

Carlos almost felt like he could say that back. Almost.

…

Evie was almost to the room when Ben stepped out. She really wanted to giggle at him - flushed face and messed up hair easily told her what they were probably doing - but she couldn't, not when Carlos could look at his phone any minute. She waited for him to round the corner before she went and knocked on the door.

No answer. 

“Carlos. I know you're in there,” she said, knocking again. “Its Evie.” She tried to keep her voice light and happy,  really hoping Carlos hadn't looked at his phone yet.

He swung open the door, looking confused as to why she was there. Not angry, not sad. 

Okay, good.

“Evie. Is everything okay?” 

Oh her dear Carlos… she had to tell him before someone else did.

…

When Ben got to the meeting, he could tell something was up. His dad looked upset, his mother worried, and Fairy Godmother - who he was surprised to see here - was staring at a tablet.

“What's going on?” he asked, making his mother rush towards him.

“Oh Ben…” She stopped. He looked confused. “You don't know.” His dad, who had been looking out the window, now turned to look at him. His mother sighed and took the tablet from Fairy Godmother, handing it to her son, who began to read.

...

**The Looking Glass**

**_Does King Ben have a Dirty Little Secret?_ **

**Everyone knows that newly crowned King Benjamin Florian has a soft spot for the children of the Isle of the Lost. His first order as King was to let four of those underprivileged children come to live with us here in our home of Auradon.**

**But has the kind-hearted King been corrupted by these children?**

**Once upon a time, King Ben had been dating the lovely Princess Audrey, who was set to be his Lady of the Court. Then, once he brought the children of the Isle here, he seemed to latch on to them.**

**After dating the purple-haired fairy Mal Bertha, the daughter of the Mistress of Evil herself, Maleficent, for over six months, King Ben of Auradon had come out as a homosexual, being the first openly gay King to rule over the kingdom.**

**Not soon after, he left one child of the Isle for another. Now, King Ben has taken to a torrid relationship with the spotted Carlos Oscar De Vil, only heir to one of the craziest women in history, Cruella De Vil.**

**All had seemed well for the King and his little lover this last month, but what if all is not as it seems?**

**King Ben was caught in a lover's quarrel with an unknown handsome prince just this afternoon. Perhaps the prince wants the king all to himself. Or maybe the king is planning on leaving the little De Vil for someone more of his standing.**

**Who knows? Only time will tell if King Ben's “love” is a tale as old as time, or something that would've been better off left on the Isle.**

**_Attached is a picture of King Ben and his ‘unknown prince’. King Ben seems to be trying to move away while the prince clings to him, as if begging him to stay. The King has a look of utter torment on his face, as if torn by what choice he should make._ **

**Article written by Anona Mouse, picture courtesy of a third-party photographer.**

**…**

“What the hell?” Ben muttered, his mind racing to Carlos. If he saw this, would he believe it? It was just a gossip column, he might not even read it. But if he did, and if he believed these lies, then that would crush him. His Carlos was already insecure as it was, and Ben had worked so hard to make sure he knew he was loved. “This is all a lie,” he said, looking at his parents.

“Of course it is,” Queen Belle said, taking the tablet from him and smiling at, worry in her eyes. “You wouldn't do something so foolish… would you?”

“Mom! I'm telling you, that's not true! Its... trash!”

“Its slander is what it is,” King Adam said, taking his glasses off and rubbing his eyes. “Slander against the royal family. We need to find who did this.” Ben nodded, in full agreement with his father. 

He would find who wrote this and banish them from Auradon for as long as he reigned.

…

Carlos looked at his phone, then his friends, and then back to his phone.

He didn't believe the article, not really. He didn't  _ think _ Ben would cheat on him, or anything that stupid. But still, the article made him uneasy. It was the  _ detail _ \- Mal's middle name, his own for instance; they didn't talk about those things. He felt his lips tremble and looked up at his friends. 

Evie had taken him from Ben's room, saying they needed to hurry. Carlos had barely locked the door before she swept him away, down a back hallway, and took the longest route possible to get back to her room.

Mal and Doug were in there, talking to each other. Jay was there too, seeming to be stuck to a chair and unable to talk. Carlos was confused.

And then he had looked at his phone. 

The article didn't worry him, but that photo - who Doug confirmed as Chad, he had seen Chad stop Ben - did look convincing. He had to convince himself that Ben  _ was not  _ looking at Chad the way he looked at him. No way.

He sighed and faced Evie, who was watching him anxiously.

“How bad is this?”

“It's spread all over the school. Everyone thinks Ben is cheating on you. I'm sorry.” He gripped his phone a little tighter, shifting so he didn't look Evie in the eyes.

“This… can't be true,  right?” No, it wasn't. There was no way Ben would go for some jerk like Chad.

_ I'm sure everyone said that about the son of Cruella too.  _ He shook his head - that thought, intrusive and not welcome, sounded like his mother. No, he was not like her. He wouldn't listen.

“Of course not!” Mal cried, turning Carlos to look at her. “Ben wouldn't do that to you.”

“He did it to you.” Mal was silent as she watched Carlos’s eyes fall. He hadn't meant to say that, but it was true.

“No, this is completely different,” Mal said softly, watching as Carlos looked down at his shoes. “I didn't love Ben. He didn't love me.” Carlos nodded, not quite listening. Jay was shifting on the seat, letting out low grunts as he struggled. Mal knew she would regret it, but waved her hand at him. 

Jay jumped up, breathing in deeply as he turned on her. 

“Not cool Mal.” She shrugged, not really caring. He turned his focus onto Carlos. “I'm gonna kill him. I'm gonna beat pretty-boy Chad's face in, and then I'm gonna kill Ben.” 

Carlos didn't get the chance to tell Jay to stop, when the whole room grew silent at his phone began to play the melodic beat of some love song. 

They all knew that was Ben's ringtone.

Carlos ignored the call.

…

Ben wanted to throw his phone against the wall. Carlos hadn't answered, and Ben was beginning to get frustrated. 

His dad had managed to find out who wrote the article, and had sent off a few of the guards to bring them to the castle.

Ben couldn't leave, not now. He knew he needed to be King Ben, not hopelessly-in-love Ben right now, but he just wanted Carlos to know it's not true.

He tried calling again, hearing it ring a couple times before it went to voicemail. He glanced out the window, seeing the royal guard coming back, followed by about a dozen press vans.

Quickly, he sent out a text to Carlos, hoping he would get it before those vultures landed.

…

Carlos glanced at his phone as he heard Jay and Mal start to argue. Evie had sent Doug - who was too sweet to get in the middle of a VK fight - to see if he could find out where Ben went.

Carlos felt the wind knocked out him as he read the message.

_ ‘Its not true baby. Its gossip and slander and I'm taking care of it. The press is coming. Stay inside. I love you.” _

Carlos tensed. For the past month, reporters had been trying to get interview after interview with him. He had managed to get out of all of them, but that was usually with the help of Ben.

“Hey guys.” Carlos wasn't heard over the yells. “GUYS!” 

“What!” 

“Reporters.” 

They all became silent as Evie ran to the window, frowning at all of the vans and the growing crowd.

“Jay. I hate to say this, but find Chad and tell him to keep his big mouth shut. Even if you have to gag him, just make sure he shuts up.” Jay finally looked happy - sure, he had wanted to be good, but Chad annoyed the shit out of him.

“Gladly.” He bolted out of the room before Mal could spell him again. Carlos joined Evie at the window, feeling his heart kick up as he stared at the growing crowd.

It wasn't even a full 5 minutes before Jay was back, dragging Chad behind him, mouth gagged with what looked like a sock, hands tied behind his back. 

“Seriously? Did you even try talking to him first?”

“Nope,”Jay said, propping the prince up on a seat at the desk. He removed the sock, and Chad coughed once before he looked around at them, his eyes landing on Carlos, who still stood by the window.

“Its not true De Vil, you have to know that! I'm not gay, and even if I was, why wou-” he was cut off by Jay shoving the sock back in his mouth.

“Shut up. We just need to keep you in here until the press leaves. Okay? If you don't wanna walk out with a black eye, I would listen. I will remove the sock, but you don't get to speak. Understood” Chad nodded quickly - even when they had chosen good, he was still terrified of these guys, Jay especially. He removed the gag and Chad took a deep breath.

“Chad,”Evie said, her voice that sickly sweet that made him want to spill his guts to her. “Do you know who took the picture?” 

…

They had brought a suit for Ben to change into before he went to talk to the press. As he was fixing his tie, he thought about Carlos. The only way he knew to get these vultures to leave him alone was to admit that Carlos was his True Love, and he hadn't even told Carlos what that meant.

No, he would just have talk to them. He could - no,  _ Would -  _ make them understand. 

He had already talked to the writer of the article - a young woman who had just started working there, and had landed the gossip when she had gotten an email with the picture and the article attached.

“I don't know who sent the email,” she had said, lowering her head in shame. “It said it was an outgoing inbox only. I couldn't reply to ask who it was. I didn't mean to cause all this trouble. I was just trying to do a good job.” 

He had handled her response well, suggesting that she find another place of employment, because The Looking Glass wouldn't be in circulation much longer.

That was one problem handled. Now he had to deal with the press.

Checking for a message from Carlos - there wasn't one - he  sent him one before he turned off his phone and stepped out into the crowd.

…

Carlos checked his phone as it buzzed in his hand.

_ ‘Going live. I love you.’ _

Carlos glanced outside the window, recognizing the blue-suited figure who was stepping out to speak.

“Turn on the TV!” Carlos cried, fear racing through him. Evie did as he said, and they all crowded around the screen, waiting to see what Ben would do.

And maybe even worse, what he would say.

Carlos watched intently, hoping to not miss a second. Ben looked perfect in his suit, not a hair out of place - everything the King needed to be.  He smiled pleasantly as all the people were surrounding him.

“King Ben! Is it true?”

“Who is the prince in the picture?”

“What is your relationship status now?”

“How has young Mr. De Vil been handling this? Can we speak to him?”

“How did you come into this situation?”

Ben held up his hands, and the people stopped talking. Carlos watched him on the TV, wishing he could he down there with him, but knowing it was better that he wasn't. He felt an arm drape over his shoulders, one around his waist, and a heavy hand on his shoulder, reminding him he wasn't alone.

Chad shifted behind them, trying to get a look at the TV too. He hoped Ben wouldn't say his name - he didn't want people thinking he was gay too.

…

Ben took a deep breath as his eyes scanned the crowd of reporters. Breathe in. Breathe out. Repeat. 

“Hello everyone, “ he said, his voice loud and clear. “I understand why everyone has come out today, and I wish to clear up any misunderstandings anyone might have after the release of that article.” Breathe in, breathe out. “The prince in the photo is a friend of mine. He had stopped me after our Tourney practice to ask me about the upcoming game. I am not, and will never be,  dating him.” His heart was racing as he thought about what he was going to say next- between what he wanted to say and what he was meant to say. “That photo was taken without either of our permission, and then taken out of context and warped into a nasty rumor that has spread far enough. It is not true. If anyone has any information on who spread this lie, I would like to speak to you. And yes, I am still, and plan to continue, seeing Mr. De Vil. That does not plan to change anytime soon.”

All the reporters began to speak, and Ben felt his heart racing as their questions flooded him.

…

Carlos let out a heavy breath as Ben continued to speak. It was okay. It wasn't true. He had known that, but all of his fears from the Isle, from his mother, had flooded back. He wasn't good enough for Ben, and he never would be.

But Ben didn't care. He never said anything about the scars, he didn't ask about the trauma- he knew if Carlos wanted to talk, he would. He knew who Carlos was, and he accepted all of him - broken pieces too. He could handle when Carlos would still be skittish from time to time, or when Carlos just wanted to be left alone. He respected him.

And Carlos did the same with Ben - he accepted the shiny royal doll version, like who was talking to the reporters right now, but he also accepted the unpredictable, unashamed man he was when he didn't have to worry about being observed as just the King. He was loud, clumsy, and silly, and Carlos loved that Ben felt like he could be himself around him.

He watched as Ben ended the talk and headed back into the school. Carlos wanted to go find him, but he felt unsure.

All of his insecurities were flooding back, and he just needed time to think.

“Guys.” They all turned to look at him, Chad included. “I'm gonna take off for a bit. If Ben comes looking for me, tell him I'll see him later.”

“But,”Evie started, only stopping when she saw the look on Carlos's face. “Okay. Just… be careful?”

“Always.” Carlos gave her a hug, which startled her - he held on tightly, and she could feel his heart hammering. Before she could really hug back, he was gone, his phone thrown on the table, which began to ring.

…

Ben frowned - Carlos still wasn't answering his calls. Hopefully he had seen the interview he had done. He had cleared up everything, and the magazine that had posted the article retracted it, stating that it was slander against the King and they didn't promote that, as well as stating they were going to be ‘on hiatus’ for a little bit.

Everything was okay.

So why wasn't Carlos answering? He tried again as he walked back to his room. Still nothing. He sent a text, and then another. 

Still nothing. 

…

Evie met first Mal's eyes, and then Jay's. They had let Chad go not long after Carlos had left, leaving the three of them sitting around the table, all staring at the red-cased phone, which began to ring again. 

So far, in about a span of 5 minutes, the phone had rang four times and let out about six chirps of messages. 

“We should let Ben know that Carlos is busy,” Evie said as the phone began to ring once again. 

“I say we just let it rest. Ben will come around here looking for C whenever he gets the chance,” Mal said, leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms.

“I just want to see his phone so I can make fun of all the cutesy shit I know Ben sends him,” Jay said, reaching for the phone. Evie snatched it up before he could.

“No! I'll just tell Ben he's busy, and then we'll turn the phone off. Carlos should be back soon…” Evie said, her voice trailing off as the phone began to ring.

The picture that popped up with Ben's name made her heart ache for her friend - obviously Ben had taken it, and he was grinning as he had Carlos squished to his side, whose cheeks were red as he looked up at Ben. He was so obviously in love with the king, so why did he run?

And where did he run to?

“Hi Ben.” 

…

Finally, Carlos answered-  or at least his phone did. Ben stopped walking and lounged against a wall as he heard a girl's voice on the other end of his call.

“Evie?”

_ “Yes.” _

“Where's Carlos? Is everything okay?”

_ “Everything's fine. Carlos is just...busy. He said he'll see you later.”  _ The call ended, and when Ben tried to call back, it didn't ring at all.

He headed to his room, dejected. He was sure Carlos was okay, but if he wanted to be alone right now, Ben could take the hint.

…

Carlos had run as far as he could, and still continued to run even when his chest began to burn and beg for air. He was running through the woods, and no one would see him which is what he wanted. 

When they had first come to Auradon, Carlos had gone exploring of their new territory and had found somewhere that had become his ‘safe place’. As far as he could tell, no one came here. The only person he had told of the spot was Mal, who had found him, completely by chance, when he was hiding one day. 

The best part was that it was about as far from the school that he could get without actually leaving Auradon. 

His woods gave way to patchy sandy ground. A little bit farther, and he began to scramble over some low rising, broken looking rocks. Swinging off the edge of one, he flipped and landed on a small little sand patch that led to a crack in the mountain behind it.

You could only reach this spot through a lot of effort, and Carlos liked to come here and listen to the waves. He found it comforting - just the calm push of the waves on sand; no screaming in his ears.

So he sat down in the sand and closed his eyes, trying to figure out what was going on in his mind, and in his heart.

...

It had been two hours, and no one had heard from or seen Carlos. Ben had gotten restless and had finally headed to check out his room, where he had found Mal, Evie, and Jay, all three looking concerned that Carlos had gone MIA too. Mal had to bite her tongue - she could guess where Carlos had run to, but he didn't want anyone to know about his spot, so she didn't say anything.

Not yet.

But then another hour passed, and another, and by now it was beginning to get dark. Ben was about to call out some of the royal guard to go search for him, when Mal talked him down.

“Come walk with me. You two wait here in case C comes back okay?” Mal said, already pulling Ben out of the room and down the hall.

“Mal-”

“Just shut up and follow me.” He obeyed, letting her pull him down to the courtyard, where he kept his bike. “You know what sounds like a good idea,” she said, grabbing his helmet and shoving it in his hands,  “an evening drive by the shoreline. Just make sure to watch out for the pile of broken rocks.” She turned and began to walk back into the school.

“What? Mal! What about Carlos?”

“Remember,  _ watch out for the pile of broken rocks!”  _ she shouted before she disappeared into the school. He looked at his bike,  and then the dots began to connect.

Jumping on his bike, he started towards the beach.

…

Carlos was leaning against the side of the mountain's rocky edge, twirling Ben's room key in his hand. He didn't know how long he had been out here, but he was glad he had worn his jacket, because it was beginning to get dark and a little chilly. 

He looked at the dorky keychains Ben had given him with the key, and he felt his heart swell. No one ever told him love would be such an overwhelming feeling, if that's what this even was.

He thought about his love for Evie, Mal, and Jay. He knew he loved them, he was sure of it. They had formed their own family on the Isle, and had kept that bond when they had been brought here. And then Ben had entered his life, and ever since he had first saw him... He had stumbled from the limo, arguing with Jay and still stuffing snacks into his face and pockets. He had turned with the rest of them when they heard a cough, and then he had met Ben's eyes.

Was it then that he had felt something shift? Pretty boys like Ben didn't exist on the Isle, and Carlos didn't know someone could look at him that way. He had felt his heart flutter then, and he knew he never wanted anyone else to look at him like Ben did.

How clichė is Love At First Sight? Ben had said he had felt it too, and Carlos didn't think that something like that existed. He had read about how it had existed, at one time - they were required to take an ‘Origins of Auradon’ class that covered the topic - as well as the concept of true love.

Carlos was sure he didn't have anything such as a true love or soulmate, but he knew he had Ben. 

He just couldn't say he loved him.

Even if he really wanted to.

…

Ben began to drive along the cliff overlooking the shore, trying to keep an eye out of what looked like a pile of broken rocks. Was Carlos here? Mal had seemed insistent on him coming over here, so he could only hope that that was what she was implying.

He came to a stop as he finally saw the rocks he was sure Mal was talking about - they were right on the edge of the cliff, a spot many people would sit at to look out at the sea. They were rough and broken on some parts, and he jumped off his bike to walk towards the rocks.

“Carlos!”

…

Carlos’s head shot up. Ben. He had found him. There was no way he knew he was here, or where his  spot was.

_ Mal. _ Carlos sighed. He wondered how long he had been gone to make Mal give up sworn-to-secrecy information like this. He stood up and dusted the sand off of him.

“Ben! Down here!” He heard the scramble of someone over the rocks, and then Ben was looking down at him.

“Carlos! Are you okay?” Carlos hate that he worried him, he could hear it in his boyfriend’s voice. He must have been gone a long time. 

“I’m fine. Move, I’m coming up.” Ben scrunched up his face in confusion, but Carlos was already scrambling up the side, latching onto what seemed to be a rock jutting out of the cliff. He swung back and forth of couple of times before he let  go, flipping in the air and landing in a crouch in front of Ben. He stood up and was immediately swept up into a tight hug.

“Are you okay? I tried to call you after the interview, but Evie had your phone, and then you were gone and you didn’t come back, and it just got later and later, and you were just… gone,” Ben mumbled into his hair, his face pressed into the soft white and black locks. He didn’t realize how scared he was until Carlos was back in his arms. He felt Carlos squeeze him back just as tightly.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize how late it had gotten. I was thinking.”

“But you’re okay?” Ben asked, letting go enough to cup Carlos’s face in his hands.

“Yes. I’m fine.” Ben swooped down to kiss him, like he always did, but Carlos could feel the worry, the fear that he had caused. It was just  _ rolling  _ off of Ben in waves, and it overwhelmed him. Ben pulled away, his eyes curious as he rested his forehead against Carlos’. “Are you okay?” Ben had the audacity to laugh.

“You were the one that went missing for hours, and you ask me if I’m okay?” Carlos had to chuckle at that, and was content to just stand there wrapped in Ben’s arms.

Until his stomach growled. Ben laughed. “I promised you dinner hours ago. Come on.” Carlos let him tug him to his bike, and as they sped off, Carlos was just content to be able to hold Ben.

…

**_*4 Months Later*_ **

Carlos hit his head against the desk; Evie who was right next to him, automatically began to pet his hair.

“It’s not that bad,” she said as she flipped through her magazine. She had had this talk with Carlos before. “It’s only your six month anniversary. It’s not that big. Besides, you still have a couple of days.”

“Says the girl with a “promise ring” on her finger,” Carlos mumbled, feeling her hand stop for a second. He turned his head to look at her. “Sorry. That was a low blow.”

“Yeah, it was,” she said, but she smiled at him, knowing he was just frustrated. “Do you know what he has planned?”

“No, he just told me it was going to be great. How can I compete with the fucking King?”

“You could fuck the king,” Jay said from where he sat by the window, making Carlos whip around to glare at him, his cheeks burning. 

“I THOUGHT YOU HAD YOUR HEADPHONES ON!” Jay just laughed and tossed a ball of paper, which Carlos managed to dodge. They were in the library, and Carlos had tried to talk to Evie, but Jay had insisted he wouldn’t bother them as he listened to his music.

“I did! Then I got bored. But dude, I don’t get why you're freaking about this. Everyone knows you both need to-”

“Jay!” Evie chided him, and Carlos turned to look at her.

“What does everyone know?” he asked her slowly, and she just grinned at him. He just stared at her, waiting. She caved.

“Fine. Someone saw Ben snap at one of his teammates, then at someone in class, and apparently he's been antsy in meetings,  which then led to a wild rumor spreading that the reason the King was so on edge lately was because…”

“Because his little boytoy won’t put out,” Jay finished, watching as all of the color left Carlos’ face. He placed his head back on the table and groaned. 

It wasn’t that Carlos didn’t want to… and he knew Ben wanted to, if how intense their makeout sessions, among other things, got lately. Hell, he was pretty sure they had both wanted to do this as soon as they had gotten together.

And he knew Ben loved him, he didn’t doubt that. And Carlos was pretty sure that he was in love with Ben, but had yet to tell him. He didn’t know what was holding him back, but whenever he had tried to say he words, they wouldn’t come out.

He sighed and felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Checking it, he saw a message from Ben.

_ ‘Got out of my meeting early. Where are you?’  _ Carlos chuckled and texted back.

**_‘In the library with Evie and Jay. Back corner by the window.’_ **

_ ‘Be there soon baby. I love you.’ _

Carlos had to admit, he had it bad. And he thought, the longer they dated, that the pet names, the lovey dovey stuff, would all kind of fade away. But no, Ben was just as loving and affectionate as he had been, and Carlos returned it all as much as he could.

He decided that tonight, he would tell Ben he loved him. He had been waiting on this for so long, and Carlos had known how he felt for a while now. He just had to man up and do it.

He still had his head down when Ben joined the group, immediately running his fingers through his hair - he knew it was Ben, because his touch was just so much more… intense. Everything was intense with him - Carlos didn’t know how to explain it. It was like that whenever he was with Ben, he could practically feel his emotions as if they bled off of him in waves.

He turned his head, laying his cheek on the table.

“Hi baby,” Ben said, making Carlos smile, ignoring the way Jay and Evie still chuckled at the pet name. He leaned down and gave him a soft kiss before he pulled away.

“Hi.”

“Any reason that you’re laying on the table?”

“It’s comfy?” Ben laughed and continued to run his fingers through his hair. It was the way Ben stared at him that made him turn into a puddle. He had to move.  He sat up, Ben’s hand falling to be on the back of the chair, and stretched, rolling his shoulders and leaning his head back as he tried to pop his back on the chair.

He didn’t realize how Ben was watching him, his eyes traveling down the lean body of his boyfriend as he groaned in the stretch. Ben’s eyes traveled up and watched the look on Carlos’ face before he tilted his head - Carlos was still stretching, but now his neck was exposed, and Ben really wanted to just bite at it - he knew which spot would make Carlos weak, and he really…

Nope. Ben turned away, missing the way that Evie and Jay rolled their eyes - the both of them had seen the way Ben had watched as Carlos stretched, how his eyes had just gotten dark and how his breathing had sped up. Carlos, the oblivious teen that he was, didn’t notice it.

“Do you want to go get something to eat?” Carlos asked, grinning at Ben, He noted the dark way Ben’s eyes looked, and the way he was taking deep breaths. “We can order a pizza and  watch a movie?” Ben had to stop himself from just dragging Carlos off to his room to ravish him. 

Okay, he really had to get himself under control.

“Sounds great,” he said, standing up and holding his hand out to Carlos, who took it happily. He waved at his friends before they walked away, Ben pulling Carlos close to wrap an arm around his waist.

“Ten bucks say they fuck tonight,” Jay said, making Evie laugh.

“Ten bucks that Carlos tells him he loves him first.”

“Deal.”

…

The pizza laid forgotten on the table in Ben’s room as Carlos had currently pinned his boyfriend underneath him on the bed. Ben didn’t care, his hands underneath Carlos’s shirt, trying to pull him closer as their kisses grew harsher, more desperate.  Ben knew Carlos would pull away at any moment, he always did, but no, not yet. 

Carlos did sit up, stripping his shirt off before he went back to kissing the young king, who was surprised - usually he had to make the first move when things went in this direction.

Not that Ben didn’t find him attractive or anything - he just knew Carlos was self-conscious about the scars that ran over his back and chest. Ben ran his hands over his back, reveling in every part of skin he could touch,  pulling him as close as he could get. Carlos could feel Ben press his hips against him, and he had an idea of what he wanted to do, but he’d worry about that in a minute. He worked open the buttons on Ben’s shirt - one handed, a skill he had gotten very good at - and began to push it off of him. Ben, without taking his lips off of Carlos’s, sat up a bit and pulled the shirt off his shoulders, falling back onto the bed as Carlos began to move his lips from Ben’s lips to his cheek, and up by his ear. 

He bit down on the sensitive spot right underneath his ear, and Ben sucked in a deep breath as his hips bucked. Carlos ground his hips back down on Ben’s, pinning him back down. Ben could easily move Carlos if he wanted, but he kind of wanted to see where his boyfriend was going with this.

Carlos worked his way down, biting at Ben’s neck, not caring if he left a hickey this time - Ben had left plenty on him before, and he could just borrow Evie’s makeup like Carlos had to if it was a problem. Ben groaned, not really expecting such rough biting to be a turn for him, but he lifted up his hips again, desperate for some kind of friction.

He swore he could feel Carlos smirk against his neck. He settled his hands on Carlos’s hips, keeping him firmly against him - he could feel how aroused Carlos was, and he was too. Carlos always drove him crazy, but this was… something else.

One of Carlos hands, which had been supporting him on the bed as he made his way to Ben’s shoulder, moved up towards Ben’s hair. He fit his fingers in between the light brown strands, and then pulled, making him tilt his head back and  show more of his neck.

“Fuck,” Ben growled- oh, that was a dirty trick, he was definitely going to get Carlos back for that - he knew how much that turned Ben on. Carlos bit into his neck again, sucking harshly on the tan skin. Once he was sure that the mark, which was slowly turning purple, would stay for a few days, he moved back to Ben’s lips, giving him a short hard kiss. Then, he continued on the way he had been going, his hand going slack in Ben’s hair. Ben sighed in desperate relief - Carlos really was a tease sometimes. He groaned as Carlos moved his hand, bringing it to Ben’s side - he realized Carlos was trying to hold him down, or keep him still at least. 

Carlos continued to assault little bits of Ben’s body, stopping to bite every now and then. He left a particular sharp bite near Ben’s belly button, which made his hips lift again. Then, the hand that had been on his side, had traveled down to work on the button and zipper to his pants.

A red light went off in Ben’s lust clouded brain. Carlos had got the pants open and was pushing them down Ben’s legs when he felt a hand in his own hair, tugging him to bring his face back to Ben’s. Carlos had to moan at the look on Ben’s face - lips parted, breathing fast, eyes dark and filled with complete lust as he just stared at Carlos. “You don’t have to d-” he started, but Carlos kissed him quickly before he moved back down, pushing Ben’s pants off completely.

“Shut up,” Carlos muttered, placing a kiss on Ben’s hip, right above the waistband of his dark blue boxers. Ben was breathing fast as he felt a kiss pressed to him, Carlos’ breath and lips hot through the fabric.

“Carlos.” Ben’s voice was strangled, and he didn’t know if he was trying to stop him or not. Carlos chuckled and pressed another kiss to him. Ben tossed his head back, trying his best to not lose control right now. He pressed his eyes closed, trying to think rationally.

Then, he felt fingers begin to toy with the waistband of his boxers. Some part of him thought he should make Carlos stop, because he didn’t think Carlos  _ wanted _ to do this, but his mind was slowly slipping from rational Ben to completely horny Ben, who could only focus on the fact that his boyfriend was beginning to push his boxers down. He lifted his hips, making it easier for him to push them down tan legs. 

Carlos, who was breathing hard, slipped a hand around Ben, giving him a few strokes. Ben groaned - it wasn’t  the first time Carlos had touched him, but it was usually through his boxers, and just quick and fast because they usually couldn’t stop. 

Carlos decided to take his time, stroking Ben slowly, making small gasps of air come from him every few minutes. And then, Ben’s mind pretty much shorted out.

Carlos had run his tongue up the length of him, making Ben shiver. Carlos licked around the top before engulfing as much of Ben as he could, his hand working the part he couldn’t get.

“Fuck!’ Ben cried out, his breathing speeding up - this was a new line for them to  cross, and his mind was spinning at the fact that his boyfriend was currently sucking his dick. Ben snaked one hand into Carlos’ hair, and Carlos groaned around him, making him buck his hips up into Carlos’s mouth. “Carlos.” Ben’s voice was rough, and Carlos really did enjoy hearing him come undone. He pulled on Carlos’s hair a bit, and Carlos took a little more of Ben into his mouth, as much as he could. “Fuck, baby.” Carlos could hear the change in Ben’s voice, a hitch coming up that meant that he was getting close to his high point. He continued his ministrations, bobbing his head and working his hand on what wouldn’t fit in his mouth. “Carlos,” Ben gasped, and he knew what was coming if the way Ben was beginning to tense under him was any indication. There was one more harsh tug on his hair, a warning, and then Ben let out a strangled cry that sounded a lot like a mixure between the words ‘fuck’ ‘carlos’ and ‘baby’ as his whole body tensed. 

Carlos took all he had to give, making sure to lick up any that he might have missed. Ben groaned as he felt Carlos shift to lay next to him again - he could feel the rough fabric of Carlos’s shorts against his own bare legs, which meant they were stlll on, while Ben happened to be completely naked.. Ben blinked and looked at Carlos, who propped his chin  on his shoulder. He looked smug.

“You okay there?” Ben nodded, finally coming out of his cloud to blink again. He could feel something coming from Carlos, like a strong force just pulling him closer. Ben turned and pushed Carlos on his back, moving on top of him. He kissed Carlos’ neck, biting down gently on the spot he knew made Carlos whine. Carlos whimpered, and Ben took that as a good sign. He didn’t care that he was naked right now - he just knew Carlos needed to be rid of his pants. Carlos apparently thought the same thing, because he was already trying to push them off. Ben helped, and soon Carlos was only in some black boxers, staring at Ben with wide eyes.

“Hi.”

“Hi. You okay there?” Ben asked, repeating the words Carlos had to said to him before. Carlos let out a small laugh as Ben leaned down to kiss him , not minding that he could taste himself on his lips. Ben reached one hand down, slowly stroking Carlos through his boxers. Carlos closed his eyes, head falling to the side. Ben took the hint, kissing his way down Carlos’s neck. His hand kept stroking, or it was, until Carlos gripped his wrist. “What?”

“It’s only fair if I’m naked too,” he said softly, and Ben had to look away, blushing. He didn’t care that  _ he _ was naked, but he didn’t want Carlos to feel like he had to be.

“Do you want to…” he trailed off, but his implication was clear. Carlos shook his head and turned Ben’s face to his, kissing him.

“Not tonight. But soon.” Ben nodded and helped push Carlos’ boxers off his slim pale legs, his head going back to what he was doing before. He could feel it,  something coming from Carlos, but he couldn’t tell what it was. He had noticed that over the last few months, he had gotten even more intune with Carlos’ feelings and emotions. Ben’s thoughts turned to static as a hand twisted in his hair, and he heard Carlos moan out his name. Ben worked down the same path Carlos had done to him, coming to bite the fair skin of his hip, making him jolt a bit. He figured this was a good chance to get Carlos back for all of his teasing. He licked up Carlos, who groaned. Then he moved away, kissing and biting his hip again. Carlos whined, pulling on Ben’s hair. Ben would not give in so easily.

“Please, King Ben. Please.”

Okay, he gave in. Carlos hadn’t meant to beg, but when he paired that with calling Ben ‘king ben’, it made Ben pretty much completely at his control. He took Carlos into his mouth, making sure to use his hand to finish what he couldn’t reach. Carlos came unraveled much quicker than Ben did, letting out a hoarse cry of Ben’s name as his body went slack. Ben made sure to clean him up before he moved, tugging the blanket that had fallen on the floor earlier up over them. Carlos looked at him and shook his head.

“What?” Carlos was staring at him, just drinking him in - Ben’s hair was wild, his face was flushed, and his eyes were still dark but shined with something that made Carlos’s stomach turn.

“Nothing. I didn’t expect you to…’ Carlos said, not finishing his sentence as he averted his eyes, making Ben chuckle as he snuggled down next to him under the blanket, pulling him to his side

“Like I was going to leave you to have all the fun.” Carlos shook his head again and sat up, moving away from Ben. “What?”

“As much as I want to cuddle with you, can we at least put our boxers back on?”

“What? No naked cuddles?” Ben teased, already reaching for their boxers, flinging them at Carlos. “Or can you not resist me like this?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know, King Ben.” Ben growled as he pulled on his boxers. He joined Carlos back on the bed, where they just cuddled together for a minute. Ben had made that joke, and of course Carlos had been able to fling it back in his face. He had always had that quick tongue, and Ben now knew how well Carlos could  _ use _ said tongue. Carlos was just staring at him, his bottom lip sucked in between his teeth. 

“What?” Carlos just shook his head again. Why couldn’t he do it? Why couldn’t he say it? Ben could tell something was on his mind, but didn’t push it. “I can reheat the pizza if you want some, and we can watch that movie.” Carlos nodded and Ben kissed him, softly and so full of love and  _ why the hell couldn’t Carlos say it? _ He sat up as Ben got out of the bed - they were in Ben’s room which was basically like a small apartment with a mini fridge and microwave, and they were all alone. It was just them. Why did Carlos feel like he was being watched?

“Ben?”

“Yeah baby?” Ben asked as he put a couple of slices of pizza in the microwave, glancing to see Carlos just staring at him.

“I love you.”

...


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone does something stupid, whether it be in the name of fear, love, or friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is the way these chapters are broken up make any sense?   
> Eh who cares, just get to reading, you don't want to listen to me ramble.  
> ...

Ben was pretty sure his heart just stopped. Carlos was looking at him, eyes wide and full of terror and he just sat there, Ben’s dark blue comforter pulled up to his chest. 

_ “I love you.” _ Carlos had said those words, right? Ben really hoped he didn’t imagine it. He took a step closer to the bed, the pizza in the microwave forgotten as he just stared at his boyfriend, his mouth open in shock. Sure, he didn’t have any doubt that Carlos loved him, but they were  going on six months and Ben had been waiting for those words.

“You do?” he asked weakly, making Carlos nod. He looked terrified, but he didn’t back down. Ben grinned now, because  _ holy shit Carlos had just told him he loved him. _ When Ben grinned, Carlos gave a small grin back, a quick upturn of the lips. Ben moved to join him back on the bed, cupping his cheek with one hand. “I love you too.” Carlos nuzzled into his hand, all the fear he had felt leaving him.

“I already knew that.” Ben pulled Carlos to him, giving him a soft kiss. When they pulled away, Carlos rubbed his nose along Ben’s. “I love you Ben.” 

Ben didn’t think he would ever get tired of hearing those words.

….

The next day Evie found Carlos back in the library, really attempting to study this time. They were close to graduation, Carlos having to take extra classes so he could graduate with his friends, and with Ben. This meant he had more tests to take, and more studying to do. Evie stared at him for a moment before she joined him, trying to pinpoint what was different. He seemed like every day Carlos - red pants, black shirt, gray vest. His hair was fluffy, like he had just dried it. But no, that wasn’t it. It was just something about the way he held himself today.

He glanced up, feeling her watching him. She smiled as she joined him. He raised an eyebrow at her as she continued to stare.

“What? Is there something on my face I swear I will punch Jay if he drew on my face again.” Evie laughed and shook her head.

“No. Did you do something different today?”

“No?” Carlos answered, confused. It was only when his phone buzzed that she realized what was different. “I know you have a meeting, and you know I’m studying,” he said as he answered his phone, speaking quietly. “I created a monster didn’t I?” he huffed, smiling despite his words. “Fine. I love you Ben. Now go to your meeting!” Carlos hung up before Ben could argue, seeing Evie look at him with a wide grin, showing off her perfectly white teeth. “What?”

“Nothing,” she giggled as she shot Jay a text; he owed her 10 dollars, and plus she just wanted to share the news.

Carlos was  _ happy _ , Evie realized as they began talked about nothing and everything at the same time. He said he had finally figured out what to do for his six months with Ben, and he planned to beat Ben at his own game. But he was smiling, and laughing, and there was just something in his happiness that was contagious. 

She was so happy for him. She could tell that he had finally found his happy ending, allowing himself to love Ben the way he loved him.

..

Of course, some people didn't let things go without a fight.

Why should the little runt get a happy ending when she didn't? Cruella De Vil threw down the ripped copy of  **_The Auradon Times_ ** that she had ripped from some poor saps hands - on the front of the paper was a picture of that stupid King, and he had his arm around around  _ her son. _

She almost didn’t recognize Carlos anymore - he had grown so much in the year he had been gone. No longer small, having grown taller and broader, his hair longer - the only part of the Isle that he seemed to keep was his colors - dressed in a red and black suit,with some white patches. The only part of his mother that he still held on to. Cruella yelled in sheer anger. WHY SHOULD THE RUNT THAT SHOULDN’T EVEN BE ALIVE GET TO BE HAPPY?

She had to get off this island.

She wanted her son back. She wanted what he had, and she would take it. 

Storming out of her home, she headed towards the barrier.

…

Their six month anniversary had come and gone, leaving Carlos with Ben’s Beast ring on his finger as well as a navy-blue wristband with the golden royal crest on it; Ben had come away with a black button down shirt, satin red tie, and a long-corded necklace that held a heavy black-red-white pendant on it with a symbol on it - the same symbol that Carlos had on all of his clothes that Evie made.

They had, essentially, claimed each other as their own, in their own ways.

( _ Ben had walked away with a box of condoms from Jay, who had laughed at the look of absolute embarrassment on the young king’s face - he had hid those in his night table, not telling Carlos what his friend had done) _

Currently, Carlos was sitting in his little spot by the ocean, his eyes closed as he let the sun warm his face. Next week would be the one-year celebration of Ben’s being crowned King (and his birthday, which had just gotten associated with him being crowned king), and the week after was their graduation - Carlos had worked hard to get here, to graduate with his friends, with Ben. He had passed his classes, had passed his exams, and had also received a scholarship to the University of Auradon - they all had, thanks to Ben he assumed - all for different things though. Carlos for technology, Jay for sports, Mal for art, and Evie for chemistry. They would all pack up and move to a different part of Auradon, get to see new things.

Ben had finally gotten all -or most of, at least- his memories back, and even through all of that - dating Mal, becoming King, all of it, he still wanted to be with Carlos. 

He couldn't believe he was sitting here right now, after everything.

He was excited. He knew his life was finally heading in the right direction. 

He still heard the screaming in his ears, sometimes too loud to think; he still felt his body tense under Ben’s hands when they touched his bare skin; he still had nightmares of his mother, beating him and locking him away from the world. These things would probably never go away, Carlos understood that, but he was finally a way to work through these without losing himself to the bad memories.

He opened his eyes as a dark cloud suddenly covered up the sun. There wasn’t supposed to be any rain today, not that he knew of. The cloud got darker, and then the wind picked up. Carlos scrambled to stand up, ready to leap and run from the small cove, when a force of wind knocked him on his back. When he glanced back up, he felt his heart plummet.

His mother was standing in front of him.

….

It had taken a little bit of work, but Cruella had found it - the last vial of magic that had been squirreled away in Maleficent's home; she had torn the place apart, but had managed to find it. She looked at the bottle, a dull yellow liquid that wouldn’t work on this side of barrier. 

But Cruella, crazy as she might be, also  _ listened _ . She had heard of the spot in the barrier that allowed the ratty tv signals to come through, that was weaker than the rest of the barrier. She just needed to get to that spot, use the magic, and she could take everything from Carlos, and live the life she was meant to have.

…

“Mom?” he said weakly, trying to move as far as he could get. “You're not… you can't be here.” She laughed, high and loud in the still dark afternoon. He had to be dreaming, right?

“You think you can just walk around with the king, and mommy wouldn't notice! How someone so  _ worthless, useless, and disgusting like you could get a king to love you!  _ NO ONE COULD LOVE YOU!”

“NO!! YOU AREN'T REAL! Carlos screamed, standing up, shaking. “You aren't here. You can't be.” She strolled forward, her scowl twisting her face as she grabbed his chin in her hand, nails digging into his skin.

“Oh I'm here sweetheart. And mommy's going to show you what you really are. A worthless runt that I should've thrown in the trash. You think you're better than me, than everyone!” she screamed, now grabbing his arm, gripping his wrist in her hand. “I am back, and once I get to your precious king, I will bring my wrath down, starting with that hairy mutt you keep. He'll make a great hat.”

“No!” Carlos tried to pull from her grip, but she was strong. Why was she strong? How had she gotten here? None of the stories of his mom had ever said she had magic, but something was definitely going on here. 

She wretched his arm up into the air, making him cry out. She laughed as she pulled and twisted, watching him suffer. Carlos fell to his knees, still trying to fight her. She let out a loud cackle, making the clouds grow darker over the sun, and then she yanked his arm up, and the pain flared down his arm, white hot and burning. He screamed as he fell back.

“Mom… stop,” he gasped, trying to sit up and look at her through the pain. She sneered and advanced towards him.

He didn't doubt at all that she would kill him. He now saw what everyone had always said about her - the wild eyes, the twisted lips. She wasn't just the crazy lady from the Isle who talked to a stuffed dog on her shoulder. 

She was back to being completely insane Cruella De Vil, something in the air making her come back to her full villainous self.

“Why would someone like you deserve love! That bratty king could do so much better than some runty, weak kid. You're just like me, Carlos. Why try to hide it? You're not worthy of love, not from him, not your friends, and certainly not from me! Why take their pity?” No, it wasn't true, Carlos knew it wasn't. But 17 years of his childhood came flooding back as he looked at her.

She kicked him with her heel, making him fall onto his back. Carlos tried to scramble back, but his left arm was currently unusable. She grabbed his right arm, yanking it just as she had his other one. He screamed, the pain so much worse than when he was younger. He felt her lift his face in her hands, and he could almost make out her leering face through his tears.

The last thing he heard was her laugh as she slammed the back of his head into the rocky side of the cliff.

Then, Carlos was blessed with pain-numbing darkness.

…

Ben had been in meetings all day, so he was glad when he could finally slip away. He had tried to call Carlos, but had got no response. He stopped in his room, wondering if Carlos had fallen asleep waiting for him.

No sign of him there. Next, he made the trek to  Carlos & Jay's room, where the former-thief told him that no, he hadn't seen Carlos since their last test let out. He went to see Mal & Evie, who was working on clothes for their graduation. 

No, they hadn't seen Carlos either.

Ben tried to stamp down the worry that was creeping up, but there was just this nagging feeling of pain and fear that wound its way around his heart.

He watched as both Mal and Evie tried tried to call him, with no answer from their friend.

“Our final let out 3 hours ago. Where could he have gone?” Evie mused as she worked on a clothing pattern. 

“More importantly,” Mal said, looking through her spellbook. “Why isn't he answering his phone?” Ben could just feel the fear and pain growing in his heart,  and he knew.

“Something's wrong,” he muttered, looking at the girls. “I need to find him.” Ben turned and hurried from the room. Mal and Evie shared a look before following Ben.

…

Ben let his heart lead him - something was wrong with his True Love, and he had to find him. A few clouds had rolled in, but the sky was still bright, the day warm. Ben had a car drive the three of them - leaving Jay behind in case Carlos returned while they were gone - and they headed towards the beach. 

Carlos had told him how he had grown to love the smell of the sea, the sounds of the waves. If Carlos was here - and Ben thought he was - he knew where. He had the car pull up beside the pile of broken rocks, leaning his head as far down as he could, catching a glimpse of black-and-red sneakers.

“Carlos!” No answer. Maybe Carlos had fallen asleep? But he had slept in the same bed as Carlos before, who never slept on his back, with his legs flailed out like that… “CARLOS!!” Mal and Evie stood back, waiting for something, anything. Ben let out what sounded like a worried growl before he stood up. Taking two steps back, he ran and  jumped over the side.

Luckily, Ben was pretty athletic, landing in a hard crouch on his legs. He stood up, and turned around.

And screamed.

“NO!” Ben ran to Carlos side, staring at the pale face of his boyfriend.  He saw the too bright red that had soaked into the sand underneath his head. “Carlos, baby,” Ben whispered, pulling his suit jacket off and gently lifting Carlos's head, bunching it underneath. He tried not to notice the warm sticky redness that was staining his fingers. “MAL! EVIE! GET HELP! Now!” Ben looked over Carlos, noticing how his arms seemed too limp at his sides. He felt for a pulse, feeling it barely beating against his fingers. “Its gonna be okay baby, you'll be okay,” Ben whispered, perhaps trying to convince himself more than anything. “Carlos, please. Don't leave me.” Ben continued to talk, moving so he was leaning behind him, pressing his jacket against the back of his head. “You can't go anywhere. Stay with me. You know what you mean to me, what you are? You're my True Love Carlos. The only person who was made in this world for me, and me for you. I can't do this without you.. Please, baby, hold on. Help is coming. Don't let go yet.” 

…

Carlos had needed stitches in the back of his head, had had four bruised ribs, and both arms had segments of bones fractured to the point that he had needed minor surgery to repair some of the damage. 

Carlos had been unconscious for two days. Whoever had beat him had done an immense amount of damage to him, and he currently had on an oxygen mask to make sure he didn't slip into a deeper coma.

Ben sat in the room with him, eyes closed and head bowed. He hadn't left since he had found Carlos, and didn't plan to until he woke up and could go home. Ben had left his mom and dad to handle the royal side of things. Right now, he was just a teenager. He didn't want to be King Ben, Son of King Adam the Beast and Queen Belle - right now he was Ben Florian, waiting for his boyfriend to wake up.

Evie brought him clean clothes after he got Carlos to the hospital, Mal would bring him a book or two - they were usually Carlos's, and Ben appreciated that, and Jay would bring him food, making sure he would remember to eat. They worried for Carlos, of course they did, but they knew that he was stronger than he looked, and believed he would be fine.

Who would do something so  _ horrible _ though? Carlos had always been the kindest of the VK's, the politest, the nicest… who would hurt him like this?

_ You know who.  _ The thought pulled at all of their thoughts, but no, that was impossible. 

Ben sighed, opening his eyes to look at the comatose boy on the bed. He had two slim black-and-red braces on his arms, and Ben could see the pale fingers that stuck out of the end. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the plastic bag that the doctor had given him - inside was the ring, the wristband, and his key. They had to remove these from Carlos before surgery, and Ben kept them with him, until he could return them to their rightful owner.

The steady beeping of the heart monitor that had been the soundtrack to his life for the last two days suddenly sped up erratically. Ben jumped up, hitting the nurse button as Carlos, eyes still closed, screamed in what sounded like agonizing pain.

…

They had kicked Ben out of the room as they huddled around Carlos, who seemed to be convulsing, struggling against the hands that tried to help him. Ben had called Mal, who had called the others,  and the three of them had appeared in a burst of light behind him. 

Ben didn't even chastise Mal for using her magic to get them here. They all clustered around Ben, who stood in front of the window that looked into Carlos’ room. He squeezed the bag of trinkets in his hand as he watched, his heart breaking. His boyfriend, his True Love, was in so much pain and fear that it was making Ben physically hurt. 

He was sure his knees would have given out if not for a slim arm slipping around his back.

“We've got you Ben. It's okay.” He felt another hand on his upper back, and one by his shoulder. “He's gonna make it through this. You'll see.”

They all seemed to stop breathing as the thrashing slowed down, and then stopped. The nurses who surrounded Carlos seemed to freeze too as they waited. 

Carlos opened his eyes.

…

Carlos didn't let anyone see him for three hours after he had woken up. He just laid there, face turned to the wall, eyes blank. He had spoken, he seemed to remember everything clearly, but would not say what happened to him. The doctors had seemed surprised by how clear he was about everything, how even though he had been laying broken in a bed for two days, he woke up like nothing had happened.

That wasn't true though. Everything hurt, and he knew he couldn't pretend like this hadn't happened, not this time.

But no one had mentioned his mother, which meant that Cruella was hiding somewhere in Auradon, probably gaining more power. He knew he should tell someone, before she got stronger, but his heart hurt much more than his body did, and he knew what he had to do first.

He didn't move from his position of staring at the wall when Ben came in. 

“Carlos?” Ben's voice was soft, and Carlos heaved back a sob as he felt the fear and pain rolling off of Ben. 

“Please go away,” Carlos said softly, trying to make his voice as firm as he could.

“But they said you could have visitors?” Ben was confused, and Carlos hated himself even more.

“Go. Away. I don't… I don't want you in here with me.”

“But…?” Ben didn't understand, or maybe he didn't want to. Carlos was going to have to be harsher. He blinked back tears as he tried to steady his voice.

“I don't love you, Ben. And I never did. It was all a trick on my end. I made the foolish king fall in love with a villain. You're just another bratty spoiled rich kid who doesn't know any better. I just took advantage of the fact that you hit your head. Your pain was my gain.” Ben heard the soft voice behind the bitterness and stepped closer to the bed. He wanted to reach out, but Carlos flinched away the closer he got.

“What? But…” Ben was speechless. Carlos had agonized  _ months _ over if he had loved Ben. He  _ knew _ he did. They were... “You're my True Love.” He saw the hitch in Carlos's shoulders, the way his fingers curled up. Ben hasn't told him before, but no time like the present, if it meant Carlos wouldn't do this. 

“Villains don't have True Love. Now get out.”

“Baby-”

“I SAID GET OUT. I DON'T WANT YOU!” Carlos yelled, closing his eyes against the pain. “I don't… I don't love you. Go away. And don't come back. I don't want you anywhere near me.”

When he heard the door close a few moments later, Carlos began to cry. 

…

His friends came in 30 minutes later, all quiet as they huddled around the bed.

“Carlos?” Evie spoke first, watching as Carlos turned his head to look at her, eyes wary. “What happened?” He gave a small twist of his head  and turned back to the wall.

“My mom is here, in Auradon.” The other three teens stilled, as if the air had been sucked out of the room. “I don't know how. But she is. She… she did this.”

“But how… how could she have gotten here?” Evie asked, looking at Mal and Jay, both who looked furious.  Cruella had done this, not to just their friend, but her own son! 

“Oh I'm gonna find that hag and break her-” Mal started, only to be cut off by Jay.

“Why the hell didn't you tell Ben? And on another note, why the fuck did you tell him to go away?” Carlos sighed and shifted to where he was sitting up - it had taken some effort, but now he could face them.

“Cruella will kill him. I had to give him a fighting chance. Besides… I'm not worth it. I'm not worth...him.” The three of them looked between them before Mal pulled out a folded sheet of blue paper out of her pocket and placed it into his hands.

“We'll take care of Cruella. You just… get your head out of your ass and get out of here.” Carlos laughed as she stood up, happy to feel the air shift again. Evie gently hugged him, Jay just patted the top of his head, and Mal flipped him off over her shoulder as they left the room. He smiled, glad to feel like things would be okay. At least for now.

He glanced down at the paper, glad he could still move his fingers in the arm-length braces he had to wear. Gently, he unfolded it and began to read. 

_ ‘Carlos, _

_ I literally just left your room and borrowed a piece of paper and pen from a nurse to write this. I love you. I will tell you I love you a hundred-and-one times until you believe it. I knew you were my True Love ever since you tumbled out of that limo. I felt it instantly, like a fire in my veins I couldn't put out, a breath I didn't realize I was always holding. _

_ And I believe you felt it too - I was frozen in time, and you were there with me, those brown eyes I get lost in every time locked on mine. I never wanted to look away. _

_ I still don't.  _

_ I don't know what happened to you, or who could do something so terrible to you, but please don't push me away. I love you. _

_ That will never change.  _

_ But I will respect you, and your wish for me to stay away. I don't like it, but if it's what you want, then I'll go, but I won't give up. _

_ I will never give up, and I will never stop loving you. I promise you, I will be right here, whenever you need me.  _

_ I love you, and I always will. _

_ Yours forever, _

_ Ben’ _

Carlos let out a small sob. That stupid king was so loving and kind and Carlos  _ fucking loved him so much but no, Ben didn't deserve to be stuck with someone like Carlos.  _ He could do so much better. 

He heard a beep, and felt a cool flush run into his veins - his pain medicine had been released. Carlos let himself fall against the pillows, ignoring how his body screamed at the movement. Clutching the blue note in his hands, he let the medicine drag him to sleep.

…

Ben laid in his own bed - it felt too big, too empty. He held up the pendant around his neck, just thinking.

It was a made of black glass, smooth and cool to the touch. Red and white swirled inside of it, and two crossed bones - a design he had seen on almost all of Carlos’ clothes - rested in the middle.

He huffed and held the pendant close to his heart. Tomorrow, when Carlos could leave the hospital, maybe they could talk then.

...

Evie and Jay met him as he was released from the hospital, bringing a change of clothes for him to leave in. Evie listened rapidly as the doctor explained how Carlos needed to take care of himself.

“Okay, take this pain medicine  _ as needed _ , but not more than six pills a day, okay? And also, you can move your arms and bend them, but you  _ must _ leave the braces on. They can be removed for showering, but that is all! With the braces and no more movement than is  _ absolutely _ necessary, they should be off in two weeks.” Carlos heard the scratching of a pen, Evie taking notes he guessed. He nodded and took the bag the doctor offered him. “You be careful out there young man, okay?” He just nodded again and let Jay push him out - he had to leave in a wheelchair, and Jay was all set to push him directly down the hallway and out of the open doors.

Evie chided the two of them as she laughed before they helped Carlos into the waiting car, glad to see him laughing too. As they all buckled in - Carlos squished between Jay and Evie - he spoke.

“So where's Mal?”

“Oh she had a meeting,” Evie said, pulling out her phone. “She should be meeting us at the school.” He nodded, feeling the note that was stuffed into his inside pocket burn.

He didn't ask about Ben, and they didn't talk about him.

So this was it.

…

“WHAT!” Ben yelled, standing up from his desk to look at Mal, who didn't even flinch. Ben's parents, who were sitting on a couch, grasped hands. When Mal had said she wanted a meeting with all three of them, he figured it must be bad. 

But this...

“Cruella is in Auradon. She's who hurt Carlos,” Mal said again, her face void of all emotion- on the inside she was so angry - how did they not know she had gotten here? “I was out all night trying to track her. I started at the shore,” Mal said, watching Ben's eyes fall as he remembered how bad Carlos had looked. “I followed her track into the woods, and then she was just… gone.”

“No one has reported seeing her?” Ben asked, turning to his parents, who both shook their head. “And she wouldn't go back to the Isle.” He slammed his fist against the desk, frustrated. How had she gotten here? And how dare she do that to Carlos? He was seething.

Until he heard a small beep. He looked up, Mal pursing her lips at her phone. 

“I gotta go,” she said, turning on her heel to leave. “Carlos just got out and Evie and Jay are bringing him back.” Ben perked up at the thought of Carlos, but then frowned. He had known Carlos was getting out - he may or may not have made a call to a doctor or two - but he didn't know it was so soon.

It made his heart ache to think about Carlos right now.

“Mal.” She turned, and he could see the sympathy in her eyes - Carlos didn't want to see him. “Tell him… I'm glad he was able to come home today.” Mal nodded, giving Ben a sad smile.

“I will. Bye Ben.” Mal left then, and Ben fell back in his chair, looking at his parents, who looked confused. He just sighed and sat up.

“We should gather the guards. We need to find Cruella before she hurts anyone else.”

…

Ben didn't see Carlos until the party celebrating his one year as king -and his 19th birthday- three days later. 

He had been on the hunt for Cruella, who had been seen breaking into a dress shop in town, and then a jewelry store. Both times, she had disappeared before she could be caught. By now, everyone in Auradon knew she had escaped the Isle. Many thought Carlos had let her over somehow, until the news of what she had done to him had been exposed.

No one suspected him after that.

Ben had wanted to put off the party until Cruella was caught, but his mother reassured him that the only way to calm everyone down was to act like they had everything under control.

So, they went on with the party. Ben stood among everyone in the royal ballroom, chatting politely with them while his eyes scanned for a familiar flare of white hair. Would Carlos come? He hadn't seen or heard from Carlos except for a small text exchange the day after he had gotten out of the hospital. Ben had texted him, asking how he was feeling. Carlos had said he was feeling okay, and that was it.

He heard a cry of his name, making him turn. Mal, in a purple dress with black and green lace trim, was striding towards him. Behind her was Evie, in a stunning blue dress, Doug on her arm with a vest and tie the same color.  Jay strolled behind them, dressed in a fine red and gold leather jacket and dark red pants.

No Carlos. He felt his heart drop. He put on a smile and greeted his friends, every fiber in his being wanting to ask about the teen whose finger Ben was wrapped around.

“Oh no!” Evie cried, digging into her little handbag, grabbing the group's attention. She pouted as she looked at Ben. “I think I dropped my favorite compact outside.” She frowned, but her eyes twinkled. “Ben, would you be a dear and go see if you can find it?” Ben was confused why she would ask him and not Doug. “Its black and red with white around the edges. It  _ might be _ by the stairs, near the garden.”

Oh.

Ben genuinely smiled now, seeing everyone else smirk at him. He tried to not let his heart get ahead of itself.

“Well, what kind of king would I be if I didn't help a damsel in distress,” he said, bowing slightly. “If you'll excuse me.” He turned and made his way through the crowd, doing his best to just not sprint out of his own party.

“He's gonna kill you,” Mal said as she fistbumped Evie, grinning.

“Then he should've brought his dramatic butt inside.”

…

Carlos missed Ben. He just missed him - he missed his warmth, his smile, the way he looked at him.

These past three days had been  _ hell _ . The pain of almost but not fully breaking your arms was nothing compared to the pain in his heart. He couldn't dull this with medicine.

His mother still hadn't been found, and Carlos worried what she might doing. He was afraid that she would come for him at any moment.

He hadn't wanted to come to the party. But Evie had grumbled, saying she had made the perfect outfit for him, and he would wear it and go, or else.

She hadn't made him go in though. Well, she had tried, but he won that battle. 

He was currently hiding by the back stairs, sitting on a stone bench that looked out into the gardens. It was dark outside, but the lamps made the flowers glow.

He tried not to think about Ben.

_ Ben was all he thought about. _

Ben believed Carlos was his True Love. How could that even be possible? Carlos had nothing to offer the king besides himself. He had no wealth, he couldn't exactly produce an heir to the throne, he had no status at all besides being the kid of a villain.

_ He really wanted to be Ben's True Love _ .

He had read up on it a bit more, learning that it was different than just ‘true love’. It was more than just love. It was the strongest connection that someone could have with another person - where your emotions and thoughts and complete beings intertwine until they became one with each other; where it was often associated with Love at First Sight, described as a shifting of the True Love couple finding each other and their hearts aligning.

Carlos thought about that first moment. He had just taken a quick glance, and then he had felt that pull, that shift in his heart when he found Ben's green eyes locked on his own.

Ben had said it too, that ever since he had first laid eyes on him, he had felt it too.

Carlos tilted his head up, glancing at the stars.

How could someone as perfect as Ben love someone like him?

…

Ben had passed by a few people, greeting them politely as he made his way towards the back staircase. He slowed down as he rounded the corner.

There, with his back facing him, was Carlos. Ben just stood there, drinking the sight of him in. He had his head tilted up to the night sky, eyes closed.

He was possibly the most beautiful person Ben had ever seen.

His heart ached at the loss of his True Love. He just wanted to go to him, pull him into his arms and make him forget how horrible his mother made him think he was.

He couldn't get his legs to move. 

But then Carlos stood up and turned around, as if to walk away. He stopped when he saw Ben standing there, watching him.

…

Carlos just saw Ben standing there, looking at him. Neither one spoke, and Carlos finally had to pull his eyes away.

“How are you feeling?” Ben asked, wanting to step closer but not doing so, no yet. Carlos kept his eyes downcast as he shrugged.

“I'm okay. Not in as much pain as I expected. The braces on my arms are annoying.”

“I can imagine so,” Ben said softly, and Carlos finally looked up at him. “Carlos, I-”

“I'm sorry, your Highness,” Carlos said, turning away and trying to flee the conversation. “I should-”

“Carlos. Stop. Please.” Carlos sighed and faced Ben, who had taken a few steps closer to him. Carlos didn't back away, so that was a good sign. Ben held out his hand, and Carlos had a flashback to when Ben had left the hospital and immediately come to him - he had made the same move then, and Carlos hadn't even gave it a second thought when he reached for it. This time, he hesitated a bit, before he slid his cold hand into Ben's warm one. 

Ben didn't tug him close this time, cautious of his arm, but instead stepped into Carlos’ space, slowly twisting their fingers together. Carlos looked at Ben, who was just watching him. Slowly, Ben let go of his hand and moved to wrap his arms around Carlos - both trying to be gentle, and to give him enough time to run away. Carlos rested his head on Ben's shoulder as Ben held onto him.

Neither one realized how much they missed this. 

“I'm sorry,” Carlos whispered as he pulled away to look Ben in the eyes. Ben just leaned into Carlos, kissing him softly. Carlos leaned into it, knowing that he wanted this, but thinking he didn't deserve it. He doesn't deserve Ben. When Ben pulled away, ending the kiss, Carlos felt like he was dreaming; Ben still looked at him with that stupid lovestruck look that he always had, that goofy grin stretching over his lips.

Ben  _ still  _ loved him.

“I know you were just pushing me away because of Cruella,” Ben said, noting how Carlos immediately dropped his eyes. Ben lifted his chin up with just a finger, and smiled softly. “I don't blame you for what you did. But please, let me help you. You don't have to suffer alone. I've got all my spare guards, as well as some volunteers, out searching for her. I won't let her hurt you again.” Carlos gave a small nod, and felt his lips quirk in a quick smile. 

“I'm sorry for what I said.” Ben just grinned again. He didn't care what happened, as long as he could keep Carlos in his arms, he could handle anything. “I didn't mean any of it. Well, you are a spoiled rich kid but everything else wasn't true.” Ben laughed while Carlos smirked at him. “I love you Ben. I'm pretty sure I loved you every since I fell out of the limo. What a way to meet your True Love huh?” 

Ben's face went momentarily slack, but then he grinned. It was the biggest grin he was sure he had ever had on his face. Carlos was blushing as he looked anywhere but at that smile.

Ben kissed him. And kissed him. And kissed him. Carlos was laughing by the time he could get Ben off of him. Ben was laughing too. 

“You're my True Love.”

“I think so?” Ben was nodding, pulling Carlos’ face to his, kissing him again.

“Say it,” he mumbled in between kisses, which made Carlos let out a small laugh. 

“You're my True Love.”

“Aaaaand?” Ben asked, drawing out the word.

“And…” Carlos glanced up, his brown eyes meeting anxious green ones. He felt that pull this time, that fire Ben had talked about, and it was like he had found a part he didn't know what missing. “I'm yours. I'm your...True Love.” 

Carlos initiated the kiss now, pulling Ben by his tie and bringing his lips to his in a quick kiss. Carlos hummed in happiness as Ben pulled him into his arms.

“Stay with me tonight?” Ben whispered, and Carlos noticed the fear that hid behind his lovestruck eyes as he waited for a response. So much hung on that question, and Ben wasn't sure if he had crossed too far of a line. But then Carlos was nodding and giving him a small smile, which Ben returned. Stepping away and linking their hands, he led Carlos into the party.

…

For Ben, the party couldn’t end soon enough. Now that Carlos was back by his side, he didn’t plan on ever letting go. He had to let Carlos talk him into letting him dance with Evie and Mal because he really didn’t want to let go of Carlos’ hand. He relented when he pulled out the puppy dog eyes though. 

Carlos was happy, and having a good time. His arms were beginning to hurt though, and was grateful when Evie pulled his medicine out of her handbag. She always planned ahead for everything. Mal had left them to go annoy Jay and Doug, who were annoying Ben by the looks of it. A slow song came on, so Evie moved her hands to wrap around Carlos’ neck, and he placed his on her back.

“So, you two worked it out?” she asked as they began to sway to the slow melodic tune. Carlos could see Ben out of the corner of his eye, watching them dance, his eyes following Carlos as he turned them slowly.

“Yeah, I’m done being a dumbass.” She smiled and moved one hand that was around his neck to pinch his cheek, making him scrunch his nose up in annoyance and amusement. They both could see Ben smiling in their direction now.

“I’m glad,” she said, letting her hand fall to his shoulder. “You deserve to be happy Carlos. I don’t know why you tried to fight it.”

“Because my mother tried to kill me?” She nodded and gave him a sad smile.

“You’re not your mother Carlos. You are worthy of love and happiness and everything.” He nodded in agreement, knowing she was right, now. “You know, Mal talked to Ben about cursing Cruella once she’s caught. He wasn't completely against the idea.” 

“I swear, you guys are going to corrupt him.”

“Oh and like you haven’t.” The two shared a giggle as they continued to sway.

“Um, can I ask you something?” he whispered, bringing his face a little closer to hers.

“Of course.”

“Have you and Doug… I mean I know he gave you the promise ring and you two are completely in love with each other and have been together for like a year and you two… I mean, this is so personal I shouldn’t even ask and it's completely different but I just-”

“Yeah, we have,” Evie said softly, meeting Carlos’ eyes, a blush tinting her already pink cheeks. “You’ll be okay Carlos. It will be okay. It’s okay to be nervous.” Carlos nodded, pulling her into a hug as the song ended. He could see Ben and Doug pull away from Mal and Jay, who looked like they were plotting something, and make their way to them.

“I think our moment is over,” Carlos said as Ben came up to him. He looked at Evie though, who was smiling at him. 

“Mind if I steal him away for a moment?” Ben asked, already wrapping an arm around Carlos. Evie smirked as she took a step back.

“Of course, your majesty,” she said, giving him a mock bow to go with her smirk. He rolled his eyes as he heard Carlos snicker behind him. Evie let herself be pulled away by Doug, who wrapped her up in his arms for another slow song. Carlos was happy for her. 

He glanced at the snack table, watching as Mal seemed to have a never-ending bowl of strawberries while Jay stood next to her, her own personal shadow. He was glad that they still had that bond of protection, of friendship, of  _ family _ , that they always had.

“Hey,” Ben said softly, pulling Carlos out of his thoughts. Ben was watching him with that soft smile of his, and Carlos knew he wanted to see that smile forever. “Party's almost over,” he said, tilting his head to where people were beginning to gather up their things and head out. “I need to take care of some “king”  business real quick,” he said, making air quotations at the word king, which made Carlos chuckle. “Mal told me it was almost time for your medicine, so if you want to duck out and go onto my room, you can.” Carlos let out a relieved breath - he was all for partying, but his body was beginning to  _ ache _ .

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” he said, checking his inside pocket for the medicine Evie had grabbed for him. “You won't be long, will you?” Ben shook his head and gave him a quick kiss. 

“I'll be up there before you know it.” Carlos nodded, and they parted ways - Ben to the crowd of people he needed to speak to, and Carlos towards Mal and Jay.

“Hey guys,”he said, approaching them. Evie saw them and quickly hurried over. “I'm gonna take off so I can take my medicine. I'll see you guys in the morning.”

“You having a sleepover with Benny-boo?” Mal asked, obviously already knowing the answer as Carlos ducked his head, his cheeks beginning to burn.

“Oooh, Carlos is gonna get laaaaid,” Jay said in a sing-song voice, making his blush deepen as he focused on his shoes.

“Come on guys,” Evie said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Carlos is in  _ love _ , let him enjoy his last night of virginity.” She gave his shoulder a loving squeeze as she giggled. “Sorry, I couldn't resist.”

Seriously, even Evie was teasing him. 

“Yeah fuck you,” Carlos muttered, but they heard him.

“Pretty sure that's Ben's job,” Mal said, clicking her tongue at him, and now Carlos had to laugh, which made the other three laugh with him. He was glad that, even though they had left the Isle and that life behind, they hadn't left each other.

...  
  


Ben had heard the group laughter, peeking over at the four teens who were all laughing with each other. He could see how Carlos was blushing, assuming there was some teasing going on. He saw Carlos give the girls a hug, Jay a fistbump, and then move to disappear up the back staircase.

He let out a deep breath, not thinking about Carlos waiting in his room for him, and instead on the task at hand.

He had more guards to send out and a villain to catch.

...

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's stupid teenagers in love, and then there's teenagers who love their friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this one has some sexual content in it. I mean its vague but not really vague. Eh, you'll see when you read it.

Carlos let himself into the large room - it was honestly a suite, but Ben didn’t call it that, so he wouldn’t either - and immediately went into the bathroom, taking a big gulp of water from the sink as he swallowed two of the small white pills. He took a look at himself in the mirror, thinking.

His mother had tried to kill him his whole life - she had starved him, beat him, treated him like dirt, and had literally tried to kill him the last time he saw her. He had grown to hate himself, and hate her more. When they had gotten the proclamation from Auradon that they could leave, Carlos had ran, hoping to never come back, even if they were expected to.

And then, he had met Ben, and his whole world - hell, not just his, but Evie’s, Mal’s, and Jay’s too - had been turned upside down  Ben had shown them all what it meant to have people care for you in a way that they had only known between the four of them. 

He took a deep breath. He was okay. Even though Cruella had found her way into Auradon, he was okay for tonight. 

He tried to clear his mind of all the heavy thoughts and moved into the bedroom part of the suite. He had been in here before, of course, but it still amazed him that one room could be so big. He slipped off his suit jacket and folded it over the back of a chair. He looked down at his arms, the red and black braces that kept his arms from pretty much going to hell while they mended back together. He sighed - at least he didn’t have to wear a bulky, itchy cast. The braces were a little stiff, but they did allow for some movement, and weren’t too much of a nuisance. He would make due.

Carlos glanced over at the extra-large bed that was nestled in the corner - with its heavy blue and gold  comforter and fluffy down pillows, it was probably the comfiest looking place Carlos had ever seen. Deciding that he should get comfy while he waited for Ben, he kicked off his shoes as well as took off his socks, before he climbed onto the bed. 

He didn’t have to wait long before Ben came hurrying in, looking relieved when he saw Carlos just sitting on the bed. Ben had been slightly worried that Carlos may had changed his mind, but no, he was still here. 

Ben just stared at him for a second, drinking him in - he wore a white dress shirt with a red and black tie, and black pants. The red and black braces on his arms just looked like another part of his outfit. Carlos just smiled at him as he walked to him. Ben slipped off his jacket, placing it on the same chair as Carlos’s before he also kicked off his shoes and socks. Soon, he was pulling Carlos to lay down next to him as he joined him on the bed.

“Take your medicine?” Ben asked as Carlos snuggled into his chest.

“Yup. Already feeling better.” 

“Good,” Ben murmured as Carlos tilted his head up to reach his lips. Ben cupped the back of his neck and brought him closer as Carlos intertwined his legs with his. Ben shifted them around until he was leaning over Carlos. He pulled away to sit up and work on the knot of his tie - Carlos copied the movement, pulling his off and tossing it onto the floor, Ben’s soon joining his. 

They met again in a soft kiss - neither one wanting to rush into tonight.

…

Mal, Evie, and Jay all met in the girls room, having changed from their fancy party clothes into their more natural attire.

“Okay, you guys ready?” Mal asked, slipping her spellbook into her bag, swinging it over her shoulder.

“Yes,” Evie said, pulling her mirror from her pocket. “Jay?” 

“Yep,” he said, holding up a small gold lamp. “You think this will work?”

“If what happens tonight  _ actually _ happens, then oh yeah. Lets hit it.” With Mal leading the way, the three (mostly) reformed villain kids headed out.

…

Carlos let out a quiet whine as he pulled Ben's face to his in a desperate kiss. 

The two of them had finally worked each others clothes off -which included a good two minutes of Ben trying to get his pants off while not letting go of Carlos, and only ended up falling off the bed, leaving the two laughing loudly before they calmed down enough for Carlos to pull him off of the floor and back onto the bed; then, with the occasional giggle, the two of them had resumed their task of removing clothes. 

Now, Ben was currently working his fingers into Carlos, who was whimpering against his lips as he stretched him. Ben moved away, only to latch onto his neck. As he bit down on one particular spot, he heard Carlos whine again.

“Ben. Please,” Carlos whimpered, thrusting down against his fingers. “ _ Please.” _

…

“Anything E?” Mal asked as the trio made their way into the small shopping area near the school. 

“Not yet…” Evie said, holding her mirror flat in her palm, an arrow on its surface guiding them. Mal glanced up at the moon, which was full tonight. A small batch of clouds was beginning to show in the otherwise clear night. They had to hurry. “I've got something!” She began to hurry towards what appeared to be an empty storefront. “In here.”

“You sure?” Jay asked as he checked their surroundings. 

“Of course. My mother's mirror may be old, but it's never  _ wrong _ .”

“How much time M?” Mal flipped to the page in her spellbook that she had marked. 

“Enough for us to get in there before we're caught.”

“Then let's go.” Checking one more time to make sure no one saw them, Mal opened the door, and the three hurried inside.

…

“Why do you have a jumbo box of condoms?” Carlos asked, taking the box from Ben to look at it. “Assorted condoms. Nice.”

“You can thank your roommate for that,” Ben said, taking the box back. As he searched through it, Carlos glanced at the back of the box.

“It has regular, ribbed, flavored, tropical flavored and…” Carlos began to laugh as he read the last one. “Why the hell would you need a glow in the dark condom?” He was still laughing as Ben threw the box to the floor, foil wrapper in hand. He leaned down to bite Carlos on the shoulder, which was still shaking from laughter. 

“I don't know, to sword fight in the dark I guess?” he mumbled into freckled skin, which shook even more.

Now both of them were laughing as Ben pulled Carlos into his arms, their bodies wrapping around each other.

…

“Hows it looking E?” Mal asked, standing by the backdoor, keeping watch. Jay was standing by the front door, doing the same. Evie was perched on a counter, eyes focused on the mirror in her hand.

“Any minute now…”

…

Ben was kissing Carlos, hesitating before they took this next step. 

Breathe in. Breathe out. Repeat. 

“Stop thinking so much,” Carlos muttered, moving to where he could place his lips onto Ben's neck. “Its fine.” Ben let out a low growl as Carlos bit him, sucking on the spot. When Carlos let go, Ben hid his face into the crook of Carlos’ shoulder as he pushed against him. 

He could feel Carlos, who had wrapped his arms around his neck, tense under him. He was about to stop, to pull away - he couldn't live with himself if he hurt Carlos - but then Carlos was pulling him closer, and Ben tried to shut off his brain as he felt himself push into the tense body underneath him.

Carlos let out a small noise as he hooked one of his legs around Ben’s, trying to pull him closer, deeper. Ben obliged, pushing in as far as he could, which made Carlos roll his head back as pleasure shot through him. Ben was now panting into Carlos’ neck, all rational thought out of his mind as he focused on the beautiful man beneath him.

Slowly, he pulled out a bit before pushing back in, a little more force this time, which Carlos responded with raising his hips as much as he could.

“Fuck,” Ben whispered, now biting harshly into Carlos’s neck as he felt fingers dig into his shoulders. Carlos just made that noise again as Ben repeated the movement.

Slowly, the two of them began to build up a rhythm as they let their minds shut off and just enjoy each other.

…

“Guys,” Jay said, glancing up at the darkening sky through the store window. “We gotta hurry.”

“Any minute now,” Mal said, eyes flicking between her spellbook that was open in her hands to the middle of the store - the three of them stood around it, waiting. “Any… minute….”

From the dark clouds, a shot of lightning tore across the sky, and then a loud boom of thunder sounded around them.

“NOW!”

....

Carlos had his head tossed back and eyes closed as he tried to match Ben’s thrusts, which were slowly getting harder and faster. He kept letting out little gasps as Ben assaulted his neck with bites. Ben had wrapped one hand around him while he kept himself balanced with the other, and Carlos was pretty much putty in his hands as he dug his blunt nails into Ben’s shoulders.

“Ben,” he whimpered, his own body building up in tension as Ben’s movements got a little harder - they were rocking together, one body locked together in a mess of pleasure and emotion. 

A flash of lightning outside of the window lit up the room, illuminating the two as they shared a passionate kiss.

…

Cruella was standing in the room, snarling at the three teens who surrounded her.

“You brats! Let me go!” Mal had bound her feet to the floor as soon as she had appeared, and  all Cruella could do now was reach out to them, with no luck of course. “It was supposed to be the King!”

“Yeah, like we’d let you near him,” Mal scoffed, making the woman let out a yell in frustration.

“Let me go, you brats won’t stand a chance!” She began to struggle, one foot beginning to unstick from the floor. “I almost killed the runt, but I won’t make that mistake with you three! I will kill you all!” Mal just snorted as she opened her spellbook.

Jay, who was keeping an eye on the window, saw another streak of lightning as the clouds grew darker and darker.

“Mal…”

“On it! _ With the power of four, we command you to do no more. With the darkening sky, now you will be confined _ !” Cruella screamed as Evie’s mirror, which she had been holding out, began to shine at her. Mal’s eyes began to glow green as she repeated her words.  _ “WITH THE POWER OF FOUR, WE COMMAND YOU TO DO NO MORE! WITH THE DARKENING SKY, NOW YOU WILL BE CONFINED!” _ Now Jay held out the lamp, which began to emit black smoke that began to crawl along the floor towards Cruella, who was trying to get away from the blinding bright light. Mal glanced at Evie, noticing her eyes were beginning to glow blue as Mal’s magic took its hold; a glance at Jay told her he was feeling it too, his eyes beginning to glow gold as the smoke began to wrap around the trapped woman. 

“ **_WITH THE POWER OF FOUR, WE COMMAND YOU TO DO NO MORE!”_ ** The three voices blended together, becoming one as the clouds in the sky blocked out the light of the full moon. “ **_WITH THE DARKENING SKY, NOW YOU WILL BE CONFINED!”_ **

Cruella screamed in pain.

Another flash of lightning shot over the sky.

…

Carlos cried out a low cry of Ben’s name as the lightning streaked across the black sky. His eyes opened briefly, a soft amber light glowing in them as he felt his body tense as wave after wave of emotion washed over him as he reached his peak, a scream of Ben’s name on his lips.

Ben, hearing Carlos cry out and feel his body ride out his release, let out a low growl before he teeth sunk into Carlos’s freckled shoulder, biting hard into the skin as he felt his own body rock with pleasure. Carlos’ heart was racing as he felt like his body was on fire - he gasped for breath as Ben moved to meet his lips. They rode down their high together as another snake of lightning exploded over the sky.

…

Mal fell to her knees, completely drained of all of her energy. Jay fell over  as the lamp fell with a heavy thud from his hand. Evie sagged against the wall, her mirror, now cracked, hanging loosely in her hand.

“We did it,” she said, sliding down the wall to sit on the floor.

“It wasn’t just us,” Mal said, closing her book as she met their eyes. “It was something much more powerful.”

…

Ben looked at Carlos, who was laying next to him, eyes lidded as he snuggled into the bed. His neck was covered in red bites, and Ben could feel his back sting as he leaned closer to him.

“You okay?” Ben asked, running his fingers through Carlos’ hair.

“Mhm,” he mumbled, letting his eyes close. “Love you.”

“Love you too baby,” Ben said, giving him a soft kiss before he curled up next to him, letting sleep claim him too.

Outside of the big window, a full moon shone down on them, not a cloud in sight.

…

When Fairy Godmother had gotten a call from Mal to pick her, Evie, and Jay up from the darkened shopping center, she was concerned. It was nearing midnight, what on earth could they doing out there?

She found the trio all laying on the floor of an empty store, seemingly weakened.

“Children what happened!” she cried, watching Mal struggle to sit up.

“We caught that bitch Cruella,” she said before she flopped back down. 

“What? Where is she?!”

“Here,” Jay mumbled, pointing at the lamp near his hand. “Beat that hag at her own game.”

“She's not getting out any time soon,” Evie mumbled, letting out a soft laugh. “Wait till Carlos finds out.” 

Fairy Godmother sighed before she pulled her wand out of her sleeve. With a flick and a quick mutter of her magic words, she had whisked the three teens back to the school. 

...

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy fuck, it's done.


End file.
